Interlocking Bonds
by Sapphiria
Summary: Instead of travelling with Serena, Clemont and Bonnie... what if Ash explored Kalos with Alain and Mairin? How would his journey, his team and the path leading to competing in the league change because of this? With a deeper interest in Mega Evolution and a mouthy starter, will winning the finals be more than a fleeting dream? Well, see for yourself. (First in Bonds trilogy)
1. Embers on the Wind

**Well, if one Kalos based fic fails you, then why not try another?**

 **This is a what if situation as in what would happen if, instead of Serena, Clemont and Bonnie, Ash travelled with Alain and Mairin? I actually was inspired by MellieCresent to write this one.**

 **Also, since humans are derived from Pokemon, I began to think that it would be more common for people to have some form of supernatural ability, as such with the senses over actual superpowers. It explains it more in the story but I really wanted to use it to flesh out the Pokemon characters.**

 **This is T because of Pikachu's Tall Grasser mouth and future events. If 15 year olds could watch Deadpool full of swearing and sex, then 15 year olds can read a story with moderate swearing and slight violence.**

* * *

 **Embers on the Wind**

Stepping out of the stuffy, stale aired airplane was a welcoming change after twenty four hours of flying. Ash Ketchum, however, wasn't one to let jet lag pin him down. There was only one reason as to why he came to Kalos and that was to enter the Pokémon league and win. He took a deep breath in, noting the subtle coolness of the Kalosian air and smiled as a familiar weight settled itself nicely down on his shoulder. The Kantonese trainer could already tell that Pikachu shared his excitement; the electric type had been blabbering on about what may happen during the flight over, not that anyone but Ash could understand him anyway.

Most people chalked up their understanding of each other due to the fact that the two were like brothers, with a bond far stronger than that of any trainer/Pokémon combination. That was not the case however, as, once you knew him well enough or had been around him for about a day, one would notice that Pikachu wasn't the only Pokémon that Ash would enjoy conversation with.

It wasn't a super natural ability that resulted in this understanding, in fact, 1 in 1000 humans on the planet had some form of abnormal sense. Those who were diagnosed with hypersensitive hearing were also seen to, mostly, be able to understand the Pokémon Language and notice emotions hidden in words, as well as the usual hearing things further out than other humans. Due to being raised in a backwater town, everyone knew about Ash's "condition" due to the fact he had to wear special headphones to stop sounds from overwhelming him. The local kids teased him for it; the adults simply warned them to stay away from him. At least Gary thought it was amazing at the time.

The fourteen year old simply chuckled at the thought of those overbearing things; one thing Professor Oak was not was a practical designer of electronic/scientific equipment. The fact he took inspiration from a video game that his older grandson, Blue, left lying around was even more cringe worthy, which made Ash relate to that said character with sympathy, however they didn't have to wear those things to school as they were taught by their mother before she was brutally murdered by an international corrupt spy who tried to hide all evidence but failed on one critical piece of which the character was wearing as an earring in later life. Video game plotlines are so confusing.

A loud, continuous screech of metal upon foot as people made their way down the stairs to the airport caused him to flinch, something Pikachu picked up on.

" _Should I yell at them to shut the hell up?"_ He asked with slight worry. Whilst this wasn't too unbearable, the constant strain of the noise could make things worse in the end.

Ash shook his head, choosing to scratch the top of Pikachu's head with affection. "It's a nice thought buddy, but we'll get hounded by them, especially the tourists." The two snorted with laughter over the image of bag ladened people with cameras surrounding them, trying to get a photo of a true Kantonese Pikachu. Even with their habitat of Viridian Forest, Pikachu were still rare encounters, wherever they could be found.

"What are you two going on about?" A female voice reminded them that this time, there was a companion joining the duo on the journey to this region. "I hope it's nothing rude." Alexa placed her hands on her hips as the two humans and one Pokémon were left alone at the top of the stairs, all the other passengers had gone in.

"Nah, Pikachu was just looking out for me, right pal?" The forenamed electric type nodded before casting a sneaky glance at Ash.

" _Tell her we were talking about how shitty the flight food was,"_ Pikachu grinned with evil intent. The inboard menu was actually very nice, especially considering the flight was one of those posh rich ones reserved for celebrities, writers, business people and journalists. Alexa had prided herself with obtaining tickets for it as she realised that two foodies would probably be entering Kalos on an empty stomach if a cheapish plane was booked for. _"She will absolutely flip!"_

"I am not repeating that," a deep flush took over Ash's face as he glared at his starter. "Come on, Alexa has been really nice to us, even bringing us with her to Kalos. That is going a step too far."

Alexa raised an eyebrow, but shook it off. After a day of travelling with Ash, Iris and Cilan through the Decolore Islands, she realised things weren't always as it seemed. Iris was a right sailor with her vocabulary, Cilan had a yandere crush on his steel set of kitchen utensils and Pikachu wasn't as innocent as he first seemed. Ash seemed to be the only sane one of the four she constantly had contact with, minus the hypersensitive hearing. Oh, and don't even get started on their Pokémon. Only Axew could have been called cute and fluffy after the "Bitch-slap" incident between Ash's Snivy and Iris' Emolga. She watched as Pikachu grumbled slightly but nodded, settling down cutely on that shoulder perch he liked so much.

"So, why don't we get inside?" Alexa suggested, watching as their attention was swooped up by a trio of Spritzee that were dancing gracefully together on the wind. "I have to call up that sister of mine to warn her of your ever nearing presence."

Two deadpanned looks greeted her words. "Yeah, I should have just listened to you."

" _Damn straight!"_

"Uhm… what?"

"Never mind!"

~0~o~0~

It turned out that Alexa's sister had other things to do instead of manning her Gym, which was her only damn job, according to Pikachu. That meant that Ash couldn't immediately challenge her, not that he minded all that much. Firstly, he wanted to check out Lumiose City which vaguely reminded him of Castelia City in Unova, only about two times the size of the latter and secondly, he knew that he should catch some Pokémon before even thinking of challenging the Santalune Gym Leader, underestimating her would be the worst mistake he could ever make as a veteran trainer.

They said their goodbyes outside of the airport, Alexa's Helioptile hugged them one last time and thanked Pikachu for extending his sparse low register language before jumping back onto his trainer's shoulder, and they went their separate ways, literally going in the opposite directions to each other as Alexa went back to her offices and Ash went to find Professor Sycamore's Laboratory that the former had told him all about on the flight over.

As the two walked down the streets, reading the English translations on signs to find the place they were looking for which was luckily popular enough to get its own line of text on the metallic green signposts dotted around Lumiose. It seemed as if they weren't the first tourists/foreigners to get lost on the circular streets of Lumiose, obviously. Luckily, if the signs weren't enough, friendly locals happily pointed the way to the laboratory when asked politely, some of them having the stereotypical sexy Kalosian accent that made young women, and some young men, swoon… on TV at least, anyway. Having never been to Kalos before, Ash was just basing it on what the Kantonese TV had taught him about the place, all of which had been satirical and mocking towards the people of the Kalos Region. Kanto just had a weird sense of humour, to be honest.

Not only that but his own slightly eastern accent had been noted by some people, mainly some otaku nerds who began questioning him about the recent anime and manga releases in Kanto, which he knew nothing about due to being in Unova and also because the ones he liked hadn't brought out anything in a while or had finished. Of course, this didn't go down well with the weeaboos, causing Pikachu to fry them as they began shouting to preserve his trainer's hearing.

Only two kinds of building lined the roads and pavements, modern glass structures that were nearly skyscrapers in some cases and olden European brick style with cafés and stores underneath them. Some Pokémon that the duo had no idea what they were called were sitting on the pavements, hopping around the roads or with their trainers, who were resting on the walls or sitting with a drink in the cafés. However, this wasn't what they noticed as they neared the Pokémon Laboratory; it was the massive hole in the ceiling and the destruction that continued down the street that had been cordoned off by the police.

A man in a white lab coat was staring at the building, running a hand through his messy navy hair whilst sighing. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and ran over, stopping to the side of the man, assessing the damage before whistling whilst impressed.

" _To whoever did that, I pray in your name. Now that, that is chaos and destruction!"_ He turned around to face his trainer and yelled. _"See that Ash? That is my goal in life, to cause that amount of destruction! I should have done that to that old coot's lab back home…"_ Unfortunately, his trainer couldn't hear him as the boy tried to push his way through the crowd, cursing his short stature for a fourteen year old. However, the lab coated man beside him did hear and was surprised to see the electric type standing on its hind legs.

"A Pikachu," the man muttered loudly, defeating the whole point of muttering which is supposedly a quiet way to talking so no one could hear you. "You can't normally see one this far out… do you have a trainer, little one?"

" _Well no shit, Sherlock, why else would I be 'this far out' if I didn't have a stooge carting me around everywhere,"_ Pikachu realised what else the man had said and glared at him. _"And who are you calling little?! I'm a god-damn Pikachu; of course I'm supposed to be little compared to you hairless Infernapes! If you want to see a little human then speak to my trainer, he's titchy for his age!"_

"Huh? What's wrong?"

" _Well fuck, I forgot most humans can't understand me,"_ he turned to the crowd, noticing the red hat and black hair that he normally caught out of his peripheral vision and grinned. _"Hey, midget, this greasy ass bastard won't understand me and called me little!"_

The man, known to many as Professor Sycamore, watched the Pikachu out of wonder, noting that it didn't seem to like being called little and that it was constantly looking back into the crowd of people that had gathered at the police tape, trying to catch a glimpse of the destroyed lab. What he wasn't expecting was someone to answer back to the Pokémon's cries as if it, no he – the Pikachu had a flat tail meaning it was a boy- was speaking in plain English.

"Firstly I'm not a midget, I'm below average," an eastern accent called out from the front of the crowd. "And secondly, it's not nice to call someone a greasy ass bastard just because he called you little!"

The Pikachu rushed towards the barrier, jumping up onto the shoulder of what looked like a twelve year old boy who was pouting like a toddler. Wait, did that child just understand his Pokémon? When the boy looked at him, Sycamore used the universal motion for 'come over here, I wanna talk to you' which the boy hesitantly followed, ducking under the tape before making his way over. Jenny was about to go and tell the boy to get back but Sycamore shook his head at her, making her realise what was going on and leave the child be.

"So, this Pikachu is yours?" He asked as the boy had made his way over, the electric type perched happily on his shoulder.

"Yeah," was his reply. "I've had him since I started my journey in Kanto."

"Can you really understand him?"

The boy nodded, chuckling at the look Pikachu was giving him at that question. "I can understand all Pokémon, I was kinda born with it. Sorry about him calling you a greasy ass bastard by the way, he gets really grouchy with jet lag and it's even worse when he hasn't had any ketchup for twenty four hours."

"I see…" The trainer and his Pokémon didn't look convinced that he understood the situation. "I do need a shower anyway, but not until Garchomp comes back. What on earth could that collar do that would make her act like that? She wouldn't suddenly go on a rampage for no reason."

"Wait, Garchomp? Collar?" The boy was immediately interested at the mention of the Pokémon that lived in the lab with him and his assistants. "What happened?"

"Three scientists came in saying they wanted to talk about something when one of them threw some kind of electronic collar at Garchomp," Sycamore explained, rubbing the back of his head with his hand, the other tucked in his coat pocket. "She went berserk and burst out of the lab. The Froakie that had been returned today went after her to try and stop her but no one knows where she is…"

"THE BEAST IS AT PRISM TOWER! LET'S GO THERE!" Someone hollered from the crowd right at that moment, causing the people to rush off in interest at the situation. Sycamore face palmed and rolled his eyes, of course this is how accidents happen with human curiosity.

"Idiots, the lot of them…" He sighed and turned back to the trainer. "A raging Garchomp is nothing to take a laugh at…" It was too late because the boy was gone.

~0~o~0~

Ash had to admit, this wasn't his best idea in the world but yet, here he was, climbing up the side of Prism Tower to reach the top. Pikachu wasn't making any snide remarks because he felt the same way and would do anything to help another poor Pokémon out. Ignoring the height, he continued to climb up with the top in sight. Five bars, four… three… two… one… he clambered over to the top ledge, shocked to find that he and Pikachu weren't the first ones there.

A blue frog like Pokémon with a white, scarf looking thing around its neck was trying to talk to Garchomp, whose incoherent roars instantly told the human she was dangerous and needed to be stopped. Ash's eyes fell onto the collar around her neck, realising that it was the cause of all the trouble.

" _Yo frogman! You need some help?!"_ Pikachu called out to the other Pokémon, who turned around in surprise at not being alone.

" _My name is Froakie, not frogman and yes, it would be nice."_ The male Froakie's eyes glared at Pikachu's trainer suspiciously. _"Just keep your owner away from Garchomp if you don't want him to get hurt."_

"Fine, I'll stay back here then." Froakie's eyes widened even further than before.

" _Did he just…?"_

" _Understand you, it's uncommon not rare."_ The electric type laughed at him. _"Now, are we gonna bag and tag a Garchomp or not?"_

"No killing her," Ash slapped a hand against his face. "Why did Oak have to give me a wild Pokémon instead of some tame thing?"

" _You love me really, Ashy boy!"_ Pikachu immediately sprinted off with a Quick Attack to dodge the Hyper Beam that was thrown his way, which went on to hit the edge of the ledge. _"Froakie, try and keep her from moving!"_

" _Already on it!"_ Froakie threw some of the cream fluff from his neck towards the dragon type, grinning as the fluff attached her feet to the ground. _"A Froakie's frubbles work just like glue to keep opponents from escaping."_

" _Yeah, well, she's still thrashing around so I can't get a good angle at the collar,"_ Pikachu scowled, shaking his head before turning to his trainer. _"Up for doing something completely crazy?"_

"Already on it!" Ash ran towards Garchomp, minding out for any attacks she sent flying in his direction and latched onto her neck, using his arms and legs to restrict her upper torso movement. "Now!" A quick Iron Tail formation began as Pikachu's tail glowed white before he jumped upwards and swung at the collar, cutting it in half. Garchomp's eyes returned to their normal colouring and she regained control of her actions.

" _My head… why am I up here?"_ She asked wearily.

"It's okay, somebody put a collar on you which sent you out of control. The police are going to get us down from here, okay?" Whilst slightly shocked that a human could understand her, she nodded with a weak smile.

" _Thank you so much, child. I owe you for what you've done."_ Her words were filled with gratitude.

"It's Pikachu and Froakie you should be thanking, they worked together to save you," Ash pulled off his backpack and pulled out a Sitrus berry from inside. "Just eat this and don't speak. You have to save your energy." Garchomp merely nodded as she took the fruit and devoured it within two bites. Once his backpack was back on, Ash stood up and away from Garchomp so the other Pokémon could check to see how she was doing.

Time seemed to slow down from there as Froakie hopped onto a weakened part of the ledge, which snapped off underneath his weight. Everyone looked on in horror as the water type began a short descent back to the ground which would surely kill him and somewhere deep down, Ash could feel something welling up inside of him. He didn't even think, his body moved by itself as he rushed to the edge and jumped off after the falling Froakie. Pikachu screams followed Ash down the tower as he went into freefalling, arms out for catching the water type, which a few seconds later he managed to achieve.

" _You idiot…"_ Froakie, trembling in fear, scolded wrapped up in the teenager's arms. _"Now we're both gonna die."_

"No, you won't," Ash managed to twist so his back was facing the ground, proving his point. He wasn't going to let Froakie die from this fall just because of what three people did to Garchomp. "I may but I was never really worth that much to anyone but my mother."

" _What about her?!"_ Froakie yelled above the roaring winds as the ground edged closer and closer still.

"She'll understand why I've done this eventually," the boy closed his eyes and smiled. "I'd never let a Pokémon die on my watch." The starter's eyes widened, startled by the trainer that would happily sacrifice himself to let any Pokémon continue to thrive in the world. What was this feeling that was rising from his chest? Was it…

Love?

Froakie realised it, he had finally found the trainer he had been waiting for, only to know that in seconds it would all be over for him. If only he wasn't so tightly held then he could do something to save the boy from certain death, if only.

The last seconds of falling flew by and they were about to hit the ground when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around the boy's knees and back before they were lifted back upwards again. Slowly, both human and Pokémon opened their eyes, to find that they were soaring around the tower in the arms of a Charizard. Memories of his own Charizard came flooding back to him, especially that one time when he was about to get impaled by crystal spikes below him as he fell.

The Charizard circled around and slowly declined until it came to rest back down on the ground away from the crowd of onlookers. It gently put both Ash and Froakie down, tipping its head curiously to make sure they were okay. However, before the two could answer, another person came running up to them, extremely worry covering his face.

The man was wearing dark clothing; blues, blacks and dark purples seemed to be a part of the norm on his outfit, the only thing that stood out was his light blue scarf which looked as if it was made to represent fire bursting from out of his neck. His scruffy navy hair and blue eyes didn't help the whole dark and brooding image the guy was giving out.

"Are you okay?" He asked whilst patting the Charizard's side, getting a fanged grin back. It was obvious that the fire type was his.

"Yeah… I'm okay…" Shakily, Ash looked down at Froakie, who smiled upwards and tried to make a thumb's up notion with his hand. "We're okay. Thanks for saving us."

"You should really thank Charizard, he did all the work." The man said calmly with a slight monotone to his voice.

" _Who did you think he was thanking, you idiot?"_ Froakie scoffed, rolling his eyes. _"Honestly, some humans these days."_ Ash giggled quietly behind his hand before staring back at the stranger.

"I was," he turned to Charizard at let out a toothy grin. "But, thank you once again. And you are?"

"Alain, I'm glad you're both alright." The man held out his hand which was instantly taken and shook.

"I'm Ash; I owe you one for saving my life back there."

"Don't mention it," Alain smiled nervously, shaking his head. "Anyone would have done the same thing."

"Well…"

" _ASH KETCHUM, YOU MOTHERFUCKER! I AM SO TELLING YOUR MOTHER ABOUT IT WHEN WE GET HOME!"_ The two trainers turned towards the sound of the shout, which belonged to a certain ketchup loving Pikachu, who was riding on Garchomp's back like a soldier heading into war heroically. As soon as the female dragon type set down, he jumped from her back into his trainer's arms. _"I was so scared, I thought you were gonna die."_

"You can't get rid of me that easily, buddy," Ash hugged back tightly, needing the comfort given from the warmth radiating off of Pikachu's body. "Anyway, you should be thanking Alain and his Charizard. Without them… well, I'd be a lump of broken bones and blood at the bottom of the tower."

" _Not funny,"_ Pikachu sniffled, punching Ash's arm as hard as he could. _"Yo dude, mon to mon… thanks a lot."_ Charizard laughed at the straightforwardness of the electric type and grinned.

" _No problem, your trainer was as light as feather… didn't take much energy to save him."_

" _I swear he has a black hole for a stomach, there is no way he should be that light with the amount he eats"_

" _What on earth are you two talking about?"_

" _Ah, Froakie, Froakie, Froakie… you have not heard of the legend that is the stomach of my trainer Ash. Trust me, even I can't live up to it and I used to be quite plump thank you very much."_

" _Ooo, plump Pikachu, sounds delicious."_

" _I wasn't talking to you, you overgrown lizard bastard!"_

" _What is up with your language?"_

" _Froakie… have you ever been wild?"_

" _No… why?"_

" _Ah, you're a tall grasser, explains so much…"_

" _Shut the fuck up…"_

"There you are!" Professor Sycamore had pushed his way through the crowd; Garchomp had plodded over to him for a cuddle as soon as he had reached the trainers. "Seeing you fall made me so worried that… Alain?"

Their eyes never met, Alain choosing to land his towards the ground. "Hey professor…" His voice trailed off and, respectably, Ash decided not to speak up with fears that he would make the situation more uncomfortable. Everything was silent for a moment, but only a moment before Sycamore took the silence as a que for him to speak up again.

"I'm just glad you're both okay," he continued on from earlier. "Anyway, I realised you don't have a place to sleep in tonight so I am offering some spare rooms in my lab for you, and one for Alain if he wants it."

"I'm up for it, thanks Professor." Ash looked over to Alain, who seemed distant for a moment. He smiled suddenly and nodded.

"If it is okay with you, thanks."

Sycamore nodded his head with a grin. "Great, come on, it's late and we need to eat before bed." He began leading the two trainers and the Pokémon back to the lab, not before Ash had to yell at Pikachu to shut up as the electric type was droning on about what they were going to eat that night.]

~0~o~0~

Day came by quickly and, once breakfast had ended, it was time to finally start travelling. The professor, Alain and Ash were standing at the bottom of the steps up to the lab, with the latter getting his Kalos region Pokédex.

"Just use that to get information on any Kalos region Pokémon," Sycamore explained lightly, knowing the boy had done it many times before. "I've also had it synced up to your other Dex entries so you don't have to re-scan Pokémon you've already met."

"Thank you for the bed and the Pokédex, Professor," the Kanto region trainer bowed in respect, before turning around to leave. "I'll sure you around… urgh!" Something hit his face, causing him to stagger back a bit.

" _BOOM HEADSHOT!"_ Pikachu burst into fits of laughter, only to be surprised as to who was behind it. _"Oh, nice one Froakie."_ Alain wasn't shocked to see Froakie sitting ahead of them, its Poké Ball in front of it. The water type had slept in the crook of Ash's arm that night, smiling at the comfort its saviour brought. He thought it was obvious from just that image that Froakie wasn't having any other trainer. And, luckily, it seemed as if Ash had picked up on it as well.

"Froakie? Do you want to come with me?"

" _Of course!"_ All eyes were on Professor Sycamore, who began laughing heartily with a huge smile.

"It looks as if Froakie has finally settled on a trainer who can bring him up to new heights," he smiled and nodded. "It's fine with me, you can keep Froakie." Ash picked up the Poké Ball and grinned as Froakie hopped onto his other free shoulder.

"Looks like Froakie beat me to it," Alain sighed, causing the others to look at him in confusion. "Oh well, I can deal with being second."

"What do you mean Alain?"

"Ash, if it's alright… can I travel with you?" The older trainer asked, looking over to his Charizard. "I believe that if I do, Charizard and I will be able to take on stronger opponents than searching on our own."

"Sure!" Ash's answer was instant and unhesitant. "I normally travel with others anyway." The chime of a clock in the distance alerted him to the fact that time was ticking on and he needed to get moving. "Thanks for everything Professor, see you again soon!" With that, he dashed off into the streets of Lumiose whilst Alain was trying to play catch up to the three. It seemed like this adventure was going to be even better than his last.


	2. International Flame

**Wow, thank you all for the support the first chapter of this story obtained! However, before the positives, I have one negative.**

 _ **To St Elmo's Fire: You won't read this but I've noticed you've done this to two of my stories. One, this story isn't entirely anime verse as Calem exists and Gym Leaders have their in game teams instead of the anime ones. Also, I'm not the only one who has put the world of the story under Any as it is simpler to do so because I'm a bit lazy and I'm not going to change it.**_

 _ **Secondly, by period I'm guessing you mean full stop. And no, your example doesn't make sense in two sentences. I have changed the semi colon in the description to an ellipse but a grammar tool told me to put a semi colon in there instead of a comma.**_

 _ **Thirdly, Pokemon and Pokemon names are all proper nouns and I am using the Sun and Moon games to prove it. Even the Pokemon Company use Capital letters E.G. "A wild Pikipek appeared!" Also, my method of writing speech actually matches the correct methods you copied and pasted.**_

 _ **I don't want to sound rude myself but you seem to be targeting me for no apparent reason, and no, I will not take this to a forum as I don't care for such a thing. I am here to write and I am possibly able to overule your... suggestions as a professional English teacher marked one of my creative pieces with this style of writing a while ago and grammar wasn't one of the problems on it. So, I am just going to ignore you as that criticism had nothing to do with my first chapter. Plus it took you three days to find this just to comment on something like that? I'm sorry but I have no reason to take you seriously.**_

 **Sorry about the rant guys but I feel strongly about this. On a more positive note, I'm glad most of you really like this and for thor94, no Ash will not bring back old team members but gain new ones and... if you haven't guessed already, he will be getting a Pokemon that can Mega Evolve.**

 **Anyway, Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **International Flame**

The walk to Santalune City had been quiet so far, with both humans and Pikachu just enjoying the path of beautiful nature that they were lucky enough to see for their own two eyes. Light streamed through gaps in the tree branches, adding brief spells of warmth that radiated down on their bodies. It was a nice feeling.

Whilst this was going on, Alain was thinking about his new companion. From what he could tell already, Ash seemed to be a thoughtful and caring young man with a strong love for Pokémon, so much so that he would put his own life in danger over theirs. But, what he was actually thinking about was the things he didn't know, such as why Ash was in Kalos in the first place. This level of thoughtfulness made it look like he was staring into space, in some kind of trance. Of course, since he wasn't travelling alone anymore, it was picked up on but those around him.

"Alain, are you okay?" The older male snapped himself back into reality and nodded, before asking his own question.

"What is your goal in life?" Alain noted the slight look of confusion and decided to rephrase himself. "What do you want to achieve by travelling here?"

"Well, winning the Kalos League is step one," Ash smiled at Pikachu, who nodded determinedly along with the idea of finally becoming victors. "Then I want to go on to be a Pokémon Master, the league way by entering the Master league and winning, or at least coming in the top three."

"The top three?" Alain wasn't entirely diverged in the paths that could be tread to obtain such a well-known title.

"Right," Ash stopped walking and began grinning excitedly at the thought of even reaching the Master League. "It's held once every five years, and you have to be invited into it and have won an International League to gain entry. Because of how many entrants there are, and the time length between, the Master is decided from the top three battlers by past winners and the current Champions by looking into their trainer backgrounds. Then, the three fight in a Battle Royal type situation to see who's the strongest! If the strongest and the chosen Master are the same person, they get the title as simple as that! But, if there's a split there's one last battle between the two for the ultimate title. And that's what I'm aiming for."

The older trainer was impressed by how dedicated his companion was to his goal, even knowing a lot about the way to claim the title. "Are there any other ways to be a Master?"

"Depends on what kind of Master you want to be…" A small blush covered Ash's face whilst his finger scratched his chin. "Outstanding services to other trainers and Pokémon is one way, and there's also type based mastery which involves Gym Leaders and the Elite Four." He went silent for a bit before speaking up. "To be honest with you… I have been offered the title before for services but turned it down since I wanted to earn it, ya know."

"You turned down the title of your dreams? Why?" Alain was shocked. If Ash had been practically hand given his goal on a silver platter then why would he stick his nose up at it and continue using a different way.

"Because I didn't want to be known as a Master who saves the world over and over again," the younger trainer replied with brutal honesty. "I want to be known for my strength and ability to overcome disadvantageous situations in battles using the Pokémon that I love. I want to prove we're strong together and not just when a crisis is happening." Alain could relate to that, he wanted nothing more than to prove his own strength as well as gain strength to protect the people he loved and cared about. "So, your turn, what's your goal?"

"Charizard and I will become the strongest Mega Evolution pair in Kalos."

"Mega Evolution?" Ash had never heard of such a thing before and it intrigued him, obviously because he already knew what evolution meant when put in the context of training and Pokémon.

" _Never fucking heard of it."_ Pikachu yawned suddenly, having not said a word in forever much to Ash's relief and then promptly went back to sleep, showing how little he cared about it, probably because he hated the idea of evolving himself. `

"It's a stage of further evolution created when a trainer and their Pokémon have a strong bond," Alain, albeit being a scientist by nature, used more common words to describe the process. It wasn't because Ash was dumb; it was just that science didn't seem to be his strong point. "A Keystone and a Mega Stone are also needed for it to work. Only fully evolved Pokémon can Mega Evolve and not all of them can."

"Charizard can, right?"

"Yes, in fact Charizard has two Mega Evolutions depending on what stone it has. I use the Charizardite X which turns Charizard into a fire and dragon type." A sparkle of excitement glimmered in Ash's eyes.

"I wonder which one would suit my Charizard," Thinking about it, Alain's Charizard seemed more bulky with a favouring on the attack side of things compared to his more streamlined Charizard that was all about speed and special attack. "He mostly knows special moves."

"You have a Charizard as well?" Alain inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, he travelled with me during the Unova adventure but, before I came to Kalos there was an emergency with Charla at the Charicifc Valley and he went back there as quickly as he could." The fourteen year old chuckled in remembrance of the sonic boom that was caused due to Charizard hearing the news. "Something to do with hatchlings, if I'm correct."

"I see…" To be honest, Alain didn't understand completely but it had something to do with Pokémon mating which was something he didn't like interfering into all that much. However, before either of them could say anything, the bushes to the side of them rustled as an injured Pokémon stumbled out.

It was cream furred with large ears that had red fur poking out from the inside. Scratches littered its body and it seemed to be extremely dehydrated, panting with every step it took. That or it had been running for a while and was trying to regain air. As it collapsed in front of them, one of the two trainers snapped into action. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder as he ran up and knelt down beside the Pokémon, taking off his bag in an attempt to get to the pre-packed medical supplies.

" _Oooh, nasty!"_ Pikachu commented, staring at a particularly large gash on its right hind leg. _"This one must have been on the wrong side of a fight with a knife wielding psychopath!"_

"Or it was in a wild fight," Ash sighed as he pulled out a Max Potion and immediately went to spray some of it on the gash. "This will sting, okay? But trust me; the pain will go away quickly." The Pokémon looked up at him with a defiant expression but nodded slowly, it was obvious that they had another tall grasser on their hands. With a press of a button, the spray touched the wound, causing the Pokémon to howl in agony. After two seconds, Ash put the powerful potion to the side and pulled out a fresh roll of bandages, wrapping them carefully around the leg to prevent any bacteria from getting in whilst healing. The rest of the potion was used on the smaller scratches, reducing them to nothing within seconds.

Now that the Pokémon was healed and slightly calmer, Ash used the time to scan it in his Pokédex whilst Pikachu grabbed a Sitrus berry from his bag. "A Fennekin, huh? It says this one is a girl."

"Fennekin are often given out to starting trainers alongside Froakie and Chespin," Alain looked over the Fennekin as she scoffed down the berry showing her appreciation through a hearty burp. "But I had no idea that they were also found in the wild."

"It's actually more common than you expect." Ash chuckled, then focusing his undivided attention on Fennekin. "So how are you feeling now?"

" _A lot better now, thank you."_ She, despite sounding rough and violent, was rather well mannered for a tall grasser.

"That's a relief, and you're welcome, by the way." Fennekin stared for a moment before smiling and shaking her head.

" _You're one of those sensors, aren't you? Explains why you can understand me."_ Suddenly her eyes widened in fear as she tried to push herself up to stand. _"We… have to… move!"_

" _Whoa, whoa, whoa."_ Pikachu tried to push her back down so she could rest, frowning at her sudden fearful outburst. Tall grassers, minus bug types, never really feared anything except their normal predators so instantly; he too became alert at the suspicion of approaching danger. _"What do you mean move? You've just bloody well collapsed and you want to start moving and risk opening that big ass fucking wound?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"_

" _NO! I'm not!"_ Fennekin snapped back at him angrily, turning to the more sensible of the duo. _"Please… just listen to me… if we don't move then you two may just not make it out of here alive!"_ She glanced between Ash and Alain as she spoke, shivering slightly from the idea of having two strangers skewered to death from those horrible Pokémon.

"She must have been followed," Ash translated briskly for Alain before coming to his own conclusion. "A Pokémon or a group of them must have caused this and staying here is putting her and by extension us at risk."

"Alright, you'll have to carry Fennekin," Alain glanced at her wearily as she growled back. "She seems to trust you more than me." Wordlessly, Ash did as he was instructed, holding the fire type so she was comfortable and secure at the same time. A low buzzing began to creep up on the group, something all but one of them picked up on.

"Beedrill, we are thoroughly screwed… RUN!" The buzzing got closer as the two humans and Pikachu began running as fast as they could down the dirt covered path. Their feet pounded heavily, causing small aches to travel up their legs which they smartly tried to ignore.

" _Oh shit!"_ Pikachu exclaimed as he dared himself to turn his head back to get a glimpse at what was chasing them. _"There are over a dozen of those motherfuckers on our behinds! What the hell did you do to make them this mad?!"_

" _I stole their food…"_ Fennekin admitted proudly, not caring that in the process she had pissed off a hive of one of the most dangerous Pokémon in the world. _"And it was quite delicious as well! I was starving after not having eaten for half a week."_

One of the Beedrill increased its speed at her words, stabbing one of its arm stingers forwards at the two humans. Luckily, they managed to dodge with Alain going to the left towards the trees and Ash to the right, closer to the edge of a deep slope that led further into a densely populated forest. The first jab didn't really do that much, it was the second attempt that made the difference. Dodging again made Ash lose his footing, causing him to start falling down the slope with Fennekin in his arms. Pikachu grabbing onto his trousers didn't help much as it sent all three of them tumbling down together screaming as they disappeared from sight.

The Beedrill followed down after them, ignoring Alain's presence as irrelevant to their search for their food thief. After they were gone, Alain rushed over to the edge, noting the skid marks in the mud down the slope where his companion had fallen.

"ASH! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" The horror of not knowing if they were okay continued to build up inside of him as the seconds passed without a reply. It was obvious they had gone far enough from him that none of them would be able to hear his voice. "Charizard, come out!" He realised his prized partner from his Poké Ball. Immediately, Charizard picked up on his trainer's fear and snarled as he searched the landscape for any attackers. "No, I'm fine. But Ash and Pikachu fell down there with Beedrill after them, can you search for them?" With a quick nod, the fire lizard flew up into the air and began looking out for either of the two beings his trainer was worried about. Meanwhile Alain decided to follow the path until he could find a safer way to enter the woodland. If he was hurt from falling down as well, then he would be no help in getting his friend from out of there.

~0~o~0~

"Urgh… that hurt…" Ash groaned as his limbs ached from skidding all the way down. He pushed himself up, noticing that Pikachu was still clinging to his leg whilst Fennekin was nestled in his lap, looking ruffled but unharmed.

" _Are you alright?"_ She asked with a worried expression. _"I never meant to involve you in my problems."_

" _Don't worry about it,"_ Pikachu, face turning a slight shade of green, tried to reassure her. _"Ash and I get into scrapes like this all the time. Now excuse me as I go and throw up."_ He scarpered off into the bushes and began to retch, leaving the two others behind to flinch in disgust at the sound.

"He's telling the truth you know," Ash picked her up, minding her injured leg. "I've almost died for some Pokémon, this is nothing for me." Whilst it did calm down Fennekin slightly, she was still highly agitated. Wearily, Ash began stroking her head before he became surprised as to how she relaxed with the touch, which led to her leaning into it.

" _Ahh, that's nice!"_ She purred like a cat, smiling widely. _"Trees and branches don't have the same affect! I can see why some tall grassers' really want to get captured by trainers."_

"It's not just because of the grooming, you know," the human boy chuckled. "Some just want to get stronger in a way that they can only achieve with a trainer. Others may just want some company." Fennekin nodded absentmindedly, the last sentence hitting home a bit too much. She was a fighter, that was true, but she was also family less thanks to that Snorlax that passed through. At times, she cried herself to sleep at a lack of her mother's warmth and at the thought of the mock fights she would have with her brothers and sisters. She cursed herself for being too weak to save them from their fate as mush underneath the weight of the normal type.

Before she could say anything, Pikachu returned with a bit of sick dribbling down the side of his mouth. _"We'd better leave this area… it's gonna fucking stink in a minute."_

"If we do then we'd better find a place to hide until the Beedrill stop looking for us." Ash looked down at Fennekin with a hopeful glint in his eyes. "Do you know any good hiding places around here?"

" _I do,"_ she nodded with a smirk. _"There's a small cave near here which can hide a group of roughly our size thanks to the ivy covering the front. We can hide in there."_ Fennekin hobbled out of Ash's lap after the trainer gently let her go. _"Follow me."_

She led them through the trees towards the cave, grimacing at moments as she put pressure on her leg. It took only ten minutes to get there, and only when Fennekin used her teeth to pull back the vines did the boys notice its existence. Not long after that, they were sat comfortably inside, Fennekin eating an Oran berry from Ash to help with the healing process. As she ate, the human used more medicine and applied new bandages, thanking someone called Brock for the knowledge on how to do it.

"Luckily for you, the wound is already on its way to fully closing up." Ash said as she finished eating the berry and decided to crawl back up onto his lap. "It should be fully healed in an hour or so thanks to the Max Potion but you will have a scar left over."

" _Great, I'll look tougher and more badass because of it."_ Albeit trying to sound cheerful, the pain was getting to her slightly. _"But seriously, why did you help me?"_

"Do I need a reason to help an injured Pokémon?" Ash shook his head in disbelief. "I don't think I do, anyway. You were hurt and I couldn't leave you out there to end up dying or something."

" _He has a weakness for us,"_ Pikachu added whilst munching on his own Oran berry. _"Plus, for some reason, we Pokémon love him to bits. Maybe it's because of his crappy childhood and the lack of anything that looked remotely like a friend."_

"How about you shut your trap and stop trying to guess what my life was like before your sailor's mouth entered it?" The fourteen year old groaned after snapping, the aches in his body catching up to him. "Maybe we should take a nap for a while. We're safe here and, once Fennekin is fully healed, we can head off to find Alain."

That's exactly what they did.

Meanwhile, Alain watched as Charizard returned with failure covering his features. "Found nothing, buddy?" A quick shake told the trainer his answer. He rubbed Charizard's snout lovingly to show he wasn't angry with the fire type. "It's okay, we'll find them."

~0~o~0~

"Are you sure you're okay to walk?" An hour had passed since Fennekin had led them to the cave and, by now, the said Pokémon was happily trotting with the scar on her leg still showing. She treated it as a souvenir from the Beedrill encounter, smiling at it proudly every now and again.

" _Yep, it's as good as new, thank you!"_ Fennekin replied sincerely.

" _Well, you're lucky that Ash always makes sure he has a couple of Full Restores and Max Potions just in case we come across a critical injury whilst in the wild."_ Pikachu stated nonchalantly. _"He would rather keep them around just to make sure instead of leaving a Pokémon to suffer in pain."_

" _For that I am grateful and… SHIT!"_ Fennekin swore as the buzzing of the Beedrill returned, causing the three to run as fast as they could down the path to try to evade the bug types. Unluckily for them, there wasn't an easy way out as they discovered whilst racing racing through the trees. It wasn't long before they reached a dead end, a large cliff that curved inwards towered over them in a mocking fashion. _"We're doomed!"_

"No we're not," Ash growled as he pulled out Froakie's Poké Ball from his pocket and threw it. "Stay back, we'll deal with them."

" _But…"_

"No buts, you're injured!" The trainer argued as the water starter formed next to Pikachu, who was already in a defensive stance. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Froakie, use your frubbles to keep them from flying!" The two Pokémon immediately got to work, Pikachu shocking the Beedrill till they began smoking whilst Froakie managed to restrain those his partner had missed. Fennekin watched on in awe at how the two seamlessly worked together to eliminate the threat. She couldn't believe it for herself, a tall grasser and what seemed to be a lab born working in harmony as Beedrill after Beedrill fell to the ground. However, they had managed to miss one.

A sole Beedrill had made its way around the frontline of defence and was about to attack Fennekin when Ash stepped in between them. "If you want to hurt her then you're gonna have to kill me first!" She was shocked that a human, that was near enough a stranger to her, was willing to put his life on the line over hers. This boy was an enigma in her eyes, an enigma that had saved her multiple times – or at least had tried to – so she knew what she had to do.

As the Beedrill prepared its stingers to drive through the human, Fennekin jumped out from behind his legs and released a powerful Ember from her mouth. The embers set the bug alight, causing it to screech as it flew off in an attempt to put itself out, disoriented from the pain of being cooked alive. By then, Froakie and Pikachu had finished, shocked to find out one had made it past them.

" _You two okay?"_ Froakie asked with worry for both his trainer and the wild that looked as if she had seen better days. They both nodded with Ash kneeling down in front of Fennekin.

"Why did you save me?"

" _Do I need a reason to save a human's life?"_ She smirked; bouncing his own words right back at him. _"You've done so much for me and I really appreciate it."_

" _You are very much welcomed,"_ Pikachu mockingly bowed at the fire type. _"We like to please."_

" _Shut up you, I'm talking to Ash."_ Fennekin took a deep breath and smiled, she knew what she was going to do now. _"There is one more favour I'd like to ask of you… if that's okay?"_

"What is it?" Ash inquired.

" _Can I please be a member of your team?"_ She pleaded, ignoring the dropped jaws from the other two male Pokémon. _"I want to get stronger and, if I could be defeated by a Beedrill as a fire type now, then I'm never gonna get anywhere by myself. Your team members are already so strong and I want to be like that too!"_

" _Lady, I'm the veteran here."_ Pikachu groaned, pressing his paw against his forehead. _"Froakie's just been from trainer to trainer; he's only been with us for a day."_

" _That just proves my point!"_ Fennekin argued haughtily, sending a warning flame his way. _"If you two could work that efficiently together after one day, then he's doing something right! So please… at least consider it!"_ She begged at the boy, awaiting rejection as a fear that she believed was coming right her way. However, a smile greeted her along with a new, unused Poké Ball.

"If you are really that sure, then I would love you to come along." That was all she needed. Fennekin cried out in joy at her answer and tapped her head against the sphere device before being sucked in; three shakes later and a ding signified her capture. "Looks like we have Fennekin as a partner guys."

" _Great but we now have one small, brooding problem that is probably shitting himself with worry called Alain that we need to go and find."_ Pikachu remarked smugly. A loud roar overhead caught their attention as a familiar Charizard circled over them and began flying slowly in a westerly direction.

"That or we follow his Charizard."

" _Oh, yeah."_

~0~o~0~

"There you are!" Alain sighed in relief as a muddy, yet happily exhausted Ash walked up to him, grinning from ear to ear. "I was worried when you fell down that slope."

"I'm okay and so is this one." The Kantonese trainer threw the Poké Ball in his hand up into the air. "Fennekin, come on out!" The female tall grasser formed looking up at the others as Froakie and Pikachu hopped down from their trainer's shoulders.

" _Thank the deities that watch over me, another tall grasser!"_ Pikachu smirked at Froakie. _"Hear that lab frogman? Us tall grasser's outnumber you two to one!"_

Before Froakie could reply, Fennekin sharply butted in. _"I may be a roughhouse tall grasser, but my vocabulary is a lot more diverse than your sparse one. If anything, it's two non-swearers to your free flowing mouth."_

" _Thanks for the vote of confidence…"_ Laughter from above caused the electric type to growl upwards at a spluttering Ash. _"HEY! IT'S NOT FUNNY!"_

"It is… you're finally getting a taste of your own medicine." Ash wiped a tear away from his eye, still laughing at that moment. "I have longed for this day for years."

" _Shut up."_

" _Don't tell him to shut up,"_ Fennekin huffed at him haughtily. _"You aren't the boss of him."_

" _Well put."_ Froakie agreed, which received a nod of approval from her. _"At least the two of us are respectful of kind and caring humans."_

An argument broke out then between Pikachu and his teammates, words being thrown loudly everywhere which caused Ash to put his hands on his ears and grimaced in slight, headache causing, pain. Alain picked up on it and nodded to Charizard, who roared as loudly as he could to try and gain their attention. The three Pokémon stopped, realising what they had done but scowled at Charizard, who hadn't helped matters much. Not to mention the group had attracted the attention of a female trainer, wearing a dark purple blouse and skirt, who was now walking their way.

"Sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing, but I noticed that Mega Stone on your Charizard…" She flicked her blonde hair, revealing a giant earing which had a Keystone on it. "Are you up for a battle?"

Alain's eyes sparkled for a moment as he turned around with a grin, flashing his Mega Ring for the girl to see. "Always, and you are?"

"I'm Astrid."

"Alain, and I'm about to win this battle!"

* * *

 **Looks like a certain someone will make her first appearance next time!**


	3. Stronger than Two, is Three

**Hi guys and thank you ever so much for the support this story is getting!**

 **I'd like to also thank you for the deal with St Elmo (Who I have blocked so, good news there). Also we have a few questions in the reviews I'd be happy to answer.**

 **The first isn't really a question but, for Little White Comet; Yes, the hearing thing is going to be an issue at points and today's chapter mentions a side affect of what happened once. I have plans for it in the future, don't you worry about a thing, m'kay?**

 **Secondly, for MellieCrescent; Ash's Fennekin is based on Mirror Serena's Fennekin but with a sarcastic and witty personality.**

 **And finally, for Satoshi-Greninja; oh, the pairing question. Apart from some hint of a pairing and Kalosshipping (Sorry Amourshippers, it is the only way and you Korrina/Clemont fans may get a kick out of this in the future) there won't be much shipping until Ash is a bit older than he is now. Fourteen is a bit young in my eyes but fifteen, ooo... maybe. (Second story hint hint)**

 **Okay with that all over, thank you for reading and hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Stronger than Two, is Three**

As Astrid released her Absol, Ash had found a nearby rock to sit on which gave him a perfect view of what was going on. Fennekin pushed her way into his lap, sticking her tongue out at Pikachu, who hopped onto his shoulder instead with Froakie choosing to sit beside his trainer politely without making a scene. The three Pokémon had been told to watch this battle closely for their own benefit.

By now, Astrid's Absol had already sent a Megahorn in Charizard's direction after countering Flamethrower with Psycho Cut. Alain remained calm and collected as he yelled out his response.

"Charizard, grab it!" Due to the bug typing of the attack, it didn't do much to Charizard as he grabbed it. The Absol managed to shake itself out of the hold, doing a back flip to avoid a close range counter from the fire type. "You're strong but I know you can do better." He held up his Mega Ring with a smirk. "Why don't we both show our full potential?"

Astrid placed her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows jokingly. "Quite the cocky one, aren't you?" She held two fingers to her Keystone earring. Four beams of orange light burst from it, the stone glowing a radiance of colours. Absol's Mega Stone, which hung from its neck, reacted back sending four blue beams of cackling energy back towards the ones made by the Keystone until they connected and turned white. "Absol, Mega Evolve!" Absol was covered in a multi coloured glow as its body began to change, wings grew out of its back, and its fringe/horn grew longer. That… and its fur became more tousled. The light ended and a DNA like vigil appeared in front of the Absol which dissipated into a blast of wind that blew everything back whilst Absol roared.

" _Holy shit!"_ Pikachu exclaimed when Fennekin whistled and Froakie gasped. _"Absol found a way to be even more emo than before!"_ Ash gently slapped his partner around the back of the head, all whilst trying to hold his own excitement deep down. So this was Mega Evolution, the power Alain had only recently told him about. He had a feeling that appearance wasn't the only thing that changed; Absol must have also gained a huge boost in power. A part of him wanted in on it too, one day Ash wanted to Mega Evolve a Pokémon as well. Maybe Alain could help him in that mission.

"Mega Absol, how do you like it?" Astrid smirked at Alain, flicking her long hair so that her Keystone flashed against the sunlight.

"First time I've seen one," he answered honestly. "I am really impressed."

"Alright then, time to show me what you've got!"

"Keystone, respond to my heart!" Alain pressed his middle and index fingers against his own Keystone before raising his wrist with the Mega Ring into the air. "Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" The same process happened to Charizard, this time with the differences being head, wing and shoulder transformation. When the body covering light died down, a black Charizard with flames sprouting from its mouth, four curved shoulder spikes, two at the front and two at the back, and spiked wings with blue underbelly and underwings roared as loudly as he could. "This is my strongest partner, Mega Charizard."

"It's pretty cool with that black colouring." Astrid grinned.

" _OY VEY! THAT'S RACIST!"_ Pikachu once again yelled out, once again getting a slap around the back of his head from Ash. _"Hey! It's true!"_

"Well, you're not one for being honest." Froakie and Fennekin sniggered at the pouting electric type. "Also, shut up I'm watching and listening."

"Thanks, we're honoured by your words of praise." Alain tried his hardest not to chuckle as he overheard the onlookers, wondering what Pikachu had said. He'd have to ask Ash later for a translation. "Charizard, Steel Wing, let's go!" Charizard flew up into the sky, his wings glowing silver and elongating to be more sharp and pointed.

"Intercept, Mega Absol, use Megahorn!" Astrid smiled as she commanded her partner. Once again, Absol's horn grew out and became green. The two ran at each other and clashed against each other in mid-air, for some reason causing an explosion.

Somehow, through the stalemate, Charizard had wretched itself out and went for a swipe, which Absol blocked with its Megahorn. A rustling to the left of him, caused Ash and his Pokémon to turn their attention away from the battle. A head of a young girl and the head of a Pokémon he had never seen before popped out of a bush, by the looks of it they had seemingly stumbled across the battle whilst out hiking.

"Woah, is that a Charizard? I've never seen one with that colouring before and since when did Absol have wings?!" The girl had no idea she was being watched and pondered out loud to herself. "What's going on here?"

" _I have no idea."_ Her Pokémon agreed with her, Ash's Pokédex told him its name was Chespin, the grass type starter that was given out to new trainers. She must be a newbie, around ten if Kalos' starting age was similar to Kanto's.

Absol had just taken a Dragon Claw to the face, and the battle was almost over. Astrid had called for a Dark Pulse and Alain shouted for Blast Burn. Ash covered his ear in pain at the loudness of the noise that the rampaging Blast Burn had created, making a mental note to by a pair of headphone looking earmuffs for future purpose. He had to leave his own pair back home after coming back from Unova, hadn't he?

Absol was still standing in a deep ditch made by the fire type attack before it fell over unconscious, changing back into its original form. "Absol!" Astrid cried out, running towards her Pokémon as Alain thanked Charizard who did the same, minus the fainting part.

"Charizard and Absol changed back to their original forms?!" The girl cried out in shock.

"I guess so," she jumped as she poked her head out of the bush to see Ash staring at her with a small smile. "First time I've seen it too."

"How did you know I was here?" The girl inquired, but before she could get her answer, Alain had finished speaking to Astrid and turned towards his companion. "Ash, come on… let's go."

"Okay, coming!" Ash grabbed their backpacks and got off the rock he was sitting on, his Pokémon running on ahead. "Nice meeting you!" He ran off after Alain leaving the girl behind in wonder. She wanted to get to the bottom of all of her questions, including those form changing Pokémon and that boy. Sneakily, she began to follow them on their way, knowing this is the only way to get her answers.

~0~o~0~

After walking for a while, Alain had found a nice spot to rest in the shade by a river with clean water to drink. Froakie had hopped in for a swim was Pikachu was lapping up a nice drink. Fennekin was curled up on Ash's lap as he pulled out a brush to groom her fur with. Brock had always told him that grooming helped make your Pokémon friendlier towards you and, as such, did it himself. Plus, Fennekin had never been properly groomed before and as such, would benefit from it to get rid of any knots still tangling her fur together.

"They were strong alright," Alain spoke his thoughts, popping a toffee into his mouth to chew on from a paper bag. "Mega Absol had been raised well."

"So that was Mega Evolution, huh?" Ash absentmindedly brushed Fennekin's fur as he talked to Alain, the fire fox loving the nice feeling of her first grooming session. "It looked amazing, normally only shiny Charizard's have a black colouring."

"That's Mega Charizard X for you." Alain threw a treat over to Charizard, who opened his mouth widely to catch and then chew on it. "A perfect partner." With that, he rubbed his hand on Charizard's snout as the fire type grinned with pride.

Ash looked at his own Pokémon before a rustling of clothing drew his attention to the rocks near to where they were sitting. He had a feeling and grinned as he called out to the girl and her Chespin hiding behind it. "I can hear you, ya know. Come on out, we don't bite!" Alain looked up as a girl with pinkish, red hair and green clothing walked out, her Pokémon copying her sheepish movements. A part of him wondered how until he remembered Ash was a Sensor, an Auditory Sensor none the less.

"Hi there!" Her voice cracked as she spoke, showing her nerves.

"What do you want?" Alain interrogated her coldly, shocking Ash who had never seen this side to Alain before now. Then again, he had only known Alain for a day or so.

"Alain!" Pikachu sniggered as Ash whacked Alain one around the head, happy that someone other than him was on the receiving end on one of his reprehending slaps. "Don't be rude. She was watching your battle and obviously has some questions for you, you baka!" Alain frowned at the weird word but Ash ignored him as he continued talking. "And don't think about battling her, she's a beginner and that Chespin wouldn't last five seconds against your Charizard even in a non-Mega form."

"Woah!" The girl and her Chespin were impressed at how the other trainer had worked out their current situation. "How did you know that?!"

"Well, I was once a beginner myself and, to be honest, your Chespin looks a bit shorter than the Pokédex's one which the entry described as being close to evolving, meaning that yours still has a way to go." Ash remembered the question from the battle site and grinned. "As for your earlier question, I heard you in the bush so… that's how I knew you were there, just like when I heard you now."

"Heard me? How, that guy didn't!" Her arms began waving wildly as she tried to make sense of what she had been told.

"Ash here is a Auditory Sensor." Alain spoke up, after swallowing another toffee.

"Seriously? Woah! I mean… they aren't that rare due to the ratio but an Auditory Sensor?! Those are like mega rare or something… I mean I don't know anything about it and I'm only making assumptions but…" She began laughing nervously, rubbing the back of her head as her Chespin simply sighed at her.

"I've met a few others like me before," Ash chuckled, thinking back to N and that Simon guy from Johto who thought he was going insane. "We aren't that rare, maybe uncommon but not rare. Like this guy said, I'm Ash, and you are?"

"I'm Mairin!" A huge grin covered the ten year old's face. "And this here is my partner, Chespie!"

" _Hi there!"_ Chespie waved politely to his new acquaintances. Fennekin lifted her head, Froakie jumped out of the river and waved back whilst Pikachu shook his head, that poor delusional Pokémon. He was never going to make it past his first, cute, adorable stage. Ash looked at Alain and nudged him in the ribs, reminding the seventeen year old to be nice.

"My name's Alain, Charizard and I are working to master Mega Evolution." He began to stroke under his first Pokémon's chin, which Charizard seemed to love. Mairin walked closer, intrigued by the concept.

"Does it have to do with that black Charizard I saw?" As Mairin spoke to Alain, Ash sent Pikachu a glare as he coughed the word 'Racist' under his breath. At times, he loved being able to understand Pokémon and be able to hear things not many others could but sometimes, it really got on his nerves and could really hurt. When Team Rocket realised this, they made a Sound Gun that sent blasts of high hertz soundwaves at them, which normal humans couldn't hear but Pokémon and Auditory Sensors could. He shivered remembering the four days he spent in hospital recovering from that attack. Misty and Brock managed to get sweet revenge for him by beating the trio up using their Starmie and Onix.

As he looked up, he noticed Alain was in a trance of internal thoughts, not even responding to Mairin's annoying pokes. "Alain, are you okay?" Ash asked with worry, causing Alain to snap out of it. He got off up of his stone and stood on a rock further away.

"It's nothing… just remembering my days as Sycamore's assistant…" He just realised what he had said as the two younger trainers gasped behind him.

"As in Professor Sycamore?" Mairin inquired. "Why would the professor let his assistant out on a journey?"

"It's none of your business."

"Alain!" Ash scolded, before softening his tone at the hunched shoulders. "Mairin is just curious, that's all. You don't need to snap at her."

"You're right," Alain heard his Holo Caster go off and pulled it out of his trouser pocket. "Alain here."

"Your next destination." The voice only caller answered, only being picked up by the intended recipient and the Sensor sat on the rock behind him. An image of a terrain appeared with a spot pinpointed.

"Understood," he ignored Mairin's call of his name and returned Charizard to his Poké Ball. "Ash, let's go."

"Alright… don't need to be grouchy about it." Ash returned Froakie and Fennekin with Pikachu taking his usual place on his shoulder.

"But I have more questions to ask…" Mairin muttered sadly as she watched the two males walk off into the overgrowth.

~0~o~0~

" _Where is the gardener for this place?!"_ Pikachu tutted as the two reached a temple surrounded by purple crystals and broken pillars. _"They need sacking! I am writing a personal complaint!"_

"Good luck with that," Ash sighed shaking his head. "You'll need to get an address first." Alain was just staring at the ruins and turned to his younger companion.

"Could you please wait out here?" He asked. "I won't be long." To most people, it would have sounded like Alain was politely asking for compliance but Ash heard the true tone of his voice, it was more demanding as if whatever was in there wasn't meant to be seen by anyone other than whomever was sending Alain in there.

"Alright, whatever." Whilst he tried to seem uninterested, Ash was dying to know what was so important that he had to wait outside. Alain nodded with gratitude and went inside. He leant against the wall whilst trying to block out Pikachu's suspicions that Alain was working for an evil madman who planned to destroy the world. However, it wasn't long before something, or someone, entered his line of vision.

"There you are!" Mairin and Chespie ran over to him, looking around for a certain Mega Evolution trainer. "Hey, where's Alain?"

"In there…" Ash jabbed his thumb back into the ruins. "I have to wait out here for him for some reason."

" _I swear on my fucking life that he's working for a beauty loving bastard who…"_

"For the last time Pikachu, shut up." He snapped, realising what he had done when he noted Mairin's shocked expression which was mirrored by her starter. "Sorry, this one loves conspiracy theories and swearing. Thanks Professor Oak for a tall grasser."

"Tall grasser?" Mairin looked down at Chespie who shrugged back.

" _Never heard of it."_ He replied knowing that his trainer couldn't understand him.

"Tall grassers are basically wild Pokémon," Ash explained politely, glad to be able to share some knowledge from his travels onto a new trainer, who was listening intently. "They love to fight and, depending on how they were raised, are right sailors with their vocabulary. However, each one is different and some tall grassers are extremely harmless." He knelt down to Chespie and rubbed the starter's head gently, which Chespie really liked. "Chespie is like my Froakie, a lab born. Raised to be a starter for a new trainer. New trainers aren't advised to start out with tall grassers as they aren't the type to listen to ten year olds but, hey, mine does and it's been four years since then and he's never shut up."

" _You love me really, Ash."_ Pikachu battered his eyelashes together creepily, like a flirtatious girl.

"I do and I hate it." By then, Alain had come out with a uncut Mega Stone in his hand, making Ash wonder why he wasn't allowed in with the guy. Alain's eyes latched onto Mairin but he ignored her over the oddly dressed man who was about to challenge him to a battle over the stone.

~0~o~0~

"Stop following us." Alain sighed as he turned around for the umpteenth time. After battling the crazy guy and his Mega Garchomp over the Mega Stone in his pocket, he had left on the road again with Ash, only to realise that the reason why his companion was chuckling was that the newbie was stalking them wherever they went.

"I can go wherever I want!" Mairin argued haughtily, brushing the dust off of her clothing from falling over. Alain continued walking on but the other two instantly caught up to him. "You seem really scary but you're really nice to Charizard and Ash so that means you must like some people and love Pokémon, am I right?!"

"Maybe… Stop trying to butter me up."

"You're mean! And how did you know what I was going to say?" When she didn't get answer, Mairin pouted and continued talking. "One day I want to use Mega Evolution so if I hang out with you, catch lots of different Pokémon and raise them right… then one day I can beat you and your Charizard!"

"I am looking forward to it." Even Mairin picked up on the sarcastic tone but she smirked as Ash whacked him one around the head telling him to be nice.

"Don't use that tone with me… huh?" A Pokémon floated into view lazy, resting atop an yellow flower. "Look Chespie, a Flabébé! Let's catch it!" As she rain after it, Ash pulled out is Pokédex and looked at the info. "Fairy type? What's that?"

"Fairy type Pokémon are immune to dragon type moves and are super effective against fighting, dark and dragon type Pokémon." Alain explained happily, watching as Chespie's Vine Whip missed the Flabébé multiple times. "However, they are weak to steel and poison types."

" _Fuck, another new type to add to the system!"_ Pikachu placed a paw against his forehead dramatically as if he was in distress. _"Oh woe is me, how will we be able to conquer it?!"_

"At least Iron Tail will actually do something good against another type, for once." Ash shivered as Pikachu glared daggers at him. How dare his human mock one of the great Pikachu's moves?! Mairin yelled as Flabébé dodged a Pin Missile and began laughing at her.

"Why can't we land a single hit?!" She cried out angrily as her new acquaintances came to see what was wrong. Alain and Ash both began thinking of ways to slow the fairy type down and came to the same conclusion.

"Mairin, does Chespie know Toxic?" Ash asked with a grin. Mairin nodded in response.

"He does… ah! Got it!" She smiled at him and commanded her partner to use the move. That resulted in a cloud of poisonous gas to be released in Flabébé's direction. The bubbles surrounding the Pokémon when the cloud dispersed showed the status aliment had taken effect.

"Now, throw a Poké Ball at her!" Alain instructed which Mairin did almost instantly. The wait from the moment the Poké Ball hit the Flabébé to the third shake was agonising but when the ding of a successful capture sounded, everyone released a held breath they didn't know they had.

"Yes!" Mairin whooped with joy. "I caught my first ever Pokémon! Alright!"

"Stop celebrating and heal that poison." Alain stated coldly, worried about Flabébé's condition.

"Alright."

~0~o~0~

Alain had lost, for the first time in ages he had lost. After getting Mairin to a Pokémon Center in a nearby town close to Lumiose, he had headed to the nearby restaurant to challenge Siebold, the head chef to a Mega Evolution battle, only to lose spectacularly. Never underestimate an Elite Four member with a type advantage. Ash was worried about the silence that was hanging over them as they walk, so much so that even Pikachu didn't try to lighten up the mood. That was, until Mairin came barrelling into him.

"Ash!" Alain helped his friend up, ignoring the Pikachu that was rolling around laughing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the younger boy smiled. "What about you Mairin?"

"I'm alright!" She grinned back before turning to Alain. "Now you listen to me! If I wanna obtain Mega Evolution I've theorised that it's easier to travel with you to be able to obtain it and get stronger so no matter what you say I'm coming with you!"

"I don't care either way," Alain shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Ash, are you alright with it?" Mairin raised an eyebrow; realising Alain was already travelling with Ash for some unknown reason.

"I'm fine," he noted the relived sigh Mairin realised. "It'll be nice to help a new trainer out as a reason to get more training in."

"Great! So, where are we going?!" Mairin excitedly stepped in between them, making Alain feel slightly uncomfortable.

"To Santalune for Ash's first Kalos Gym battle." Alain replied quickly, which Mairin seemed shocked about.

"Wow, you're taking the Gym route? That's awesome! You must be really strong."

Ash chuckled and walked on ahead, stopping and blocking the path. "Well, if you're coming along with us, Mairin then that makes you a rival… in a way."

"What? Me? A rival?" She waved her hands nervously. "I have no idea of what I want to do as a trainer, let alone do Gyms and…"

"Not that," he shook his head and grinned. "I want to obtain Mega Evolution as well." The other two gasped in shock but it was Alain who decided to speak up.

"You do?"

"Of course!" Ash looked down at Pikachu who had the same excited look as he did. "Having a bond strong enough to make a new power is always interesting. I may not have any that can Mega Evolve on me now but I'll just catch a new partner on my journey who can and, if I don't I could bring back one of my other Pokémon to take that place!" He adjusted his hat slightly. "Obtaining a Keystone and a Mega Stone could be useful for the future, as well as with Gyms that may use Mega Evolution as well and, like Mairin; I want to kick your behind in battle as well!"

"If you are so sure," Alain was emotionless at first but smiled slightly a moment later. "Then I'll help you if you want it."

"Thanks."

"What about me?!" Mairin pouted at the seventeen year old like a toddler.

"Oh, yeah, I'll help you too Mairin." It seemed as if she was an afterthought, so a certain someone stepped in to make sure that the promise was kept.

"Swear on it Alain!" Ash was ready to scold him at the first signs to resistance.

"I'm not going to swear, Ash. That's rude…"

" _But I will! Fuck!"_ Pikachu's sudden inclusion into the conversation caused everyone to jump, especially Ash and Chespie who could understand him.

"Pikachu! You're setting a bad example for Chespie!" The scolding was dished out, but not at the original intended target.

" _Do I look like I give a flying fuck? No? It's because I don't!"_

Ash sighed and slapped his head at the language his starter was throwing around. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves down and stared at the path ahead of him. "Well, I'd better start training as soon as if I'm going to beat the Gym Leader, so we'd better get moving!" He began running, laughing at the feeling of the cold air whipping against his face gently, ignoring the yell of Alain and the cheering of Mairin behind him. Now with Mairin coming along for the ride, he had no idea where the path to the Kalos League would take him but hopefully, it would be awesome.

* * *

 **Okay, decided to go all Pokemon anime on you and release some chapter titles ahead of uploading. So, here are the next three for you to look forwards to.**

 **4\. Fantastical Flashes**

 **5\. Sparkles and Cracks**

 **6\. A True Mega Power**

 **That's all folks!**


	4. Fantastical Flashes

**Hi everyone, and here's chapter four!**

 **I kind struggled with this one as it is a battle orientated chapter so I took inpiration from another of my stories (not on this site) to write the Santalune Gym Battle. This one is more game based in structure and appearance whilst a certain Ash technique makes its appearance. Now, for your questions/statements.**

 **Firstly, No... Ash will not have a Lucario as a Mega. There are more than just Lucario's out there as Mega choices, he will have a steel type Mega Evolution though.**

 **Secondly, Mairin will obtain more Pokemon. I have three new additions awaiting her in the wings of future chapters.**

 **Next, to the random guest, sorry but Ash will have a fully evolved team by the end of this. So, no stopping at a second stage just because of design. And, as a quick note, this story will be roughly 55 chapters long due to my planning so... not gonna be a short one.**

 **Finally, the thing with Serena and Clemont, who will be appearing soon enough. They still have their anime plots but instead of Ash, it's someone else who is helping them, which causes problems when they receive an item back that wasn't there in the first place. In two chapters this will all make sense but until then, please be patient as I am only one person and I don't have the time to make a chapter a day. The Clembot situation will be solved by the next chapter whilst this stories protagonists are on Route 5 back to Lumiose.**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Fantastical Flashes**

"Do you even know where you're going?!" Alain's words seemed to be ignored as Ash and Mairin ran on ahead of him, rushing through the streets of Santalune City in the direction of the Gym with no regard for his lack of running experience. Although he would never classify himself as physically unfit, Alain was not a runner. Unfortunately for him, his two travelling companions were. Mairin had shown herself to be energetic with a lack of being able to keep still unless she was forced to.

" _What do you think?"_ Pikachu, who was happily clutching his trainer's jacket as the latter ran, smirked cockily back at the older trainer.

"Nope! I have no idea," Ash stopped running and jumped up onto a nearby fountain, pointing his finger forwards with a smile on his face which couldn't make anybody angry at him. "But if I keep on moving then I'll have to find it someday, right?"

" _Yep! Well, not unless your stupid ass gets us lost again but, you've been getting better at that lately."_ Ash couldn't help but continue to smile as the fountain exploded with water behind him, the timed pattern having turned itself on with the water droplets in the air sparkling in the sunlight. It was the perfect time for a photo apparently. A flash of a camera brought the Kantonese duo out of their special moment as they latched their eyes onto a blonde haired lady with a camera in her hands. _"Yo, lady, we only do paid photographs. That'll be a tenner thanks."_

"Pikachu…" Ash muttered sternly under his breath as the female looked at them in admiration.

"You two seem to be very close, almost like family in a way… I just had to take a picture, sorry." She apologised without meaning it, eyes landing on her camera in a moment of guilt. "A bond like that is hard to find nowadays."

"Ash is like that with all of his Pokémon," Mairin interjected proudly, puffing out her chest even though she wasn't the one she was talking about. "It may help he's a Sensor!"

"Mairin!" Alain scolded her as the woman's eyes widened. "It's not a sensible idea to tell everyone you meet that. Some people don't see Sensors as normal people and do horrible things to them. Do you want to put Ash in danger?"

"No…" The youngest of the trainer group stared at the ground meekly, tears threatening to form from her eyes. "I… I… I'm sorry… I wasn't… thinking…"

"Alain! Leave her alone!" Ash stepped up this time, glaring at him as he pulled Mairin into a hug. "It's okay, you didn't know but now you do. Just think about it in the future, okay? Alain is as guilty as you are," he turned on Alain with a confident smirk. "Remember when you met her down the lake?"

"But she didn't seem to be anything scary…" He was sweating buckets even though it was a cool day overall. Ash rolled his eyes and huffed.

"Yeah, you realise that the bad guys always use the innocent and cheery ones as much as any other person." Mairin burst into laughter at the lecture Alain was getting. "Anyone can be a spy; they just need to be good actors or actresses to convince people about their fake roles in society." They stopped after realising that the woman had burst into fits of laughter at their act.

"It's okay, I'm a Sensor too, a Visual one," Her own eyes made their way back to her camera. "I noticed you and your Pikachu a way away and thought it would make a beautiful photo. My name's Viola." Everyone introduced themselves which lead to Viola's next question. "So what kind of Sensor are you? I told you mine so it's only polite to answer back."

"How do we know you're not faking it?" Alain inquired, still sceptical about this woman.

"That five day old stain on your scarf is quite prominent to me." Viola smirked as Alain checked his scarf for the stain that he had washed out; to him his scarf looked normal. "The colour of blue is slightly darker than the rest of the scarf, and it seems by the flaky appearance that it's dried ketchup."

" _KETCHUP?!"_ Pikachu shouted suddenly at the idea of the delicious sugary treat. _"WHERE?! TELL ME OR I'LL STEAL YOUR KEYSTONE, ALAIN!"_ A well timed slap to the back of the head brought the electric type out of his ketchup induced madness.

"If you try to steal Alain's Keystone, Mega Ring included or not, I will put you back into your Poké Ball for a time out." At the sight of Pikachu's horrified expression, Ash couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I went there."

" _Ash Ketchum you motherfucker…"_ Pikachu didn't know whether or not to be angry, surprised or extremely impressed. _"When did you grow a backbone?"_

"Auditory, huh?" All attention was back on Viola, who looked extremely impressed. "They aren't that common, less than Visuals are. I guess that shows how you are so close to your Pokémon."

"I'd be close to them even without the ability," Suddenly, the true purpose for being in Santalune re-entered his mind and, since Viola seemed to be a local, it made sense to ask her for assistance. "Hey, Viola, do you know where the Santalune Gym is?"

Her eyes sparkled for a while, but only for a short while, before she answered. "Of course, just turn left ahead and you'll be there. Anyway, I have to go." She waved her hand and turned to leave. "It was nice meeting you." With that, she left as the group decided to walk the rest of the way for Alain's sake. As she turned the corner, Viola smirked to herself; this challenger was going to be interesting.

~0~o~0~

"Is this really it?" Mairin asked looking at the greenhouse like structure of the Santalune Gym, noting it's lack of space compared to the larger greenhouse right behind it that seemed to be full of flowers.

"I guess so," Alain turned to Ash, who was more knowledgeable with Pokémon Gyms than he was. "Are they normally this small?"

"No, Gyms are usually huge due to the battlefields and extra areas…" He frowned as he stared at the building. "Maybe Kalos' are different from the ones I'm used to in other regions." Ash took a deep breath and began smiling anyway. "Well then, let's find out!" He said as he pushed the doors open.

Walking through the doors into what seemed to be a room from any Art Deco gallery, the group noted that there seemed to be nobody around. Pictures of multiple bug types, professionally captured and breath taking to look at, hung from plain white walls and, apart from that, there was nothing in there to suggest a battlefield of any kind. Ash spoke his thoughts as he looked around. "So… what do we do?"

Mairin began tapping lightly on the walls, trying to hear if any were hollow with secret passages behind them. "This is the Gym, right?"

"It should be," Ash walked to the centre of the square room, trying to figure out what on earth the puzzle behind this was. "Maybe the leader is testing challengers by…" All of a sudden, there was nothing holding him up and he fell down through a shoot, screaming in shock all the way down with Pikachu parodying the Eric Cartman swearing scene from that South Park movie with Satan and some weird guy. He thought he was going to die until he landed with a bounce on some kind of ground that felt sticky to the touch. "By trying to kill them, I should have guessed with my luck." Pikachu, upside down in her lap groaned in agreement, his lunch almost regurgitating on him.

"Ash!" Mairin called from up above. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" He shouted back in a reply. "There's something down here to catch you!" There were a few minutes of silence before the two could hear a cheer and, a moment after that, felt someone land next to them whooping loudly with excitement. A moment after that and another person made their way down to join them.

"That was so cool!" Mairin was already on her feet, stumbling on the material that was keeping them from falling further. "I wanna do it again."

"I'd rather not," Alain groaned at her, literally turning a shade of green from bouncing so heavily on the net. Taking a look around, Ash realised they were on a giant spider's web, quite fitting for a bug type theme – hinting at the typing the Gym Leader specialised in, which branched out into some kind of maze. By the long observation he was getting from the maze like structure, it seemed as if the goal was to reach the closed tent. "Are any of you good at two dimensional mazes?"

" _What, because you're too stupid to work it out for yourself?"_ Pikachu hiccupped as if he was drunk, which didn't have any reasoning behind it, the electric type just wanted to sound drunk for some apparent reason.

"I'll ignore what you said about my lack of intelligence." Ash huffed, crossing his arms.

"I'll try it out." Alain said kindly, acting a lot more like he was the day Ash had met him. Pikachu began to laugh at his trainer, also commenting on his lack of a sense of something called direction causing Ash to narrow his eyes and pout.

He wasn't that bad with directions, after all it only took him ten times of getting lost in the woods surrounding Pallet to find a suitable place to play with the wild Pokémon whilst also knowing that home wasn't too far away. "Shut up Pikachu." However, he turned to Alain with a smile. "Thanks a lot, I owe you one."

"No need, it's my pleasure." Alain lead the way as the group of three, and one Pokémon, made their way around, trying to avoid the dead ends as much as possible. To be honest, it wasn't really that hard. Water droplets made to look like dew drops showed the correct path, something the older trainer had pointed out ten seconds into their journey to the tent. As the final drop fell, they were climbing up the last thread to be greeted by the same woman from earlier.

"Hello again, it's great to see you, welcome to my Gym," Viola chuckled at the trio's expressions, Pikachu's was the greatest. She noted Alain's lack of interest and turned to the excitable younger two trainers "So which one of you two want to go ahead and challenge me first?"

"I'm not challenging!" Mairin hastily spoke up, shaking her head sadly. "Ash here is. I'm still figuring out what to do yet."

"Don't worry about your future yet. Have a look around and think about whether it's the right thing for you before you choose to do something with full commitment," Viola gave the red head a nice smile with closed eyes with a small, gentle parting of her lips. She then turned to her challenger with her confident grin returning. "So Just you taking me on today? Well I'm ready when you are Ash."

"I was born ready!"

~0~o~0~

Just beyond the tent was a set of stairs that lead to the battlefield, which was the greenhouse from earlier that was just behind the Gym. Flowers and trees lined borders at the sides of areas reserved for any spectators and the hanging lights from above looked just like water droplets. Alain and Mairin took their place in the spectator zone whilst Ash and Viola took to the opposite sides of the field, a referee standing in place in their own spot, ready to serve the Gym Leader.

"My camera is posed and set for the perfect snapshot," Viola gently rested the said camera against her chest, reaching for her Poké Ball containing her first partner. "Either I'm going to picture your stunning victory or crumpling defeat. Once more, are you ready?"

"I am!" Ash answered, hand clasped around the sphere from which his first choice would come from. He knew that Pikachu would be a bit too overkill at the moment due to his veteran status and, from what he had guessed, the Gym would contain a part flying type. Sure, Pikachu would be good right now but he was sure that both Froakie and Fennekin could win this for the team.

"This is a two on two match with no substitutions from either side," Viola studied her challenger for any sign of shock but noted there was nothing, just unwavering determination. She could tell this battle was going to be a good one. "And, I have the choice whether or not to use more than the four move restriction that Gym Leaders may or may not follow according to the rules. Also, you get the first move. Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Alright, let's begin!" She flung her first Poké Ball towards the centre of the field. "Surskit, close up!" The blue, four legged water skater formed, swaying gently from left to right.

"Fennekin, let's do this!" Throwing the Poké Ball into the air, a red light burst forth, bringing the female fire type out as she stared at her opponent.

" _A Surskit huh? A nice challenge."_ She turned back to her trainer with a grin. _"I hope you remembered those egg moves of mine!"_

"You know I did," Ash took a deep breath and grinned, it was time to do what he did best, kick ass in a Pokémon battle. "Fennekin, let's start off with Flame Charge!" Fennekin did as she was told and surrounded herself in a fiery coating as she charged towards Surskit. Viola shook her head at the idea, why was the boy using a fire type move on a part water type?

"Surskit, dodge please!" However, Fennekin was faster thanks to the added speed boost and sent Surskit flying. "What?"

"Fennekin's pretty fast thanks to our training," Ash grinned as Fennekin stuck her nose up at her opposition tauntingly. "All I needed was one level of boosting to make her faster than your Surskit."

"Well then, it's time to slow you down!" Viola nodded at her partner who was no back on its feet. "Surskit, Ice Beam manoeuvre!"

"Fennekin, dodge quickly!" However, it was quickly revealed that the fire type wasn't the target of the move, the ground was. Soon the floor of the Gym was covered in ice, which the poor Fennekin began to slip and slide on whilst Surskit seemed perfectly happy. Ash growled as he realised he had to do something quickly or else he would leave his partner out in the open for any attack, which is what Viola was planning.

"Quick Attack!" Surskit gracefully skated over the ice before increasing its speed, aiming for Fennekin who was hit multiple times in an onslaught of the attacks.

"That can't be good for Fennekin, right?" Mairin worriedly asked Alain, who was clutching the barrier in front of him with worry.

"No, multiple attacks like that are slowly wearing her down, Ash has to do something quickly or else he's as good as handing Viola her first victory…" He replied, gritting his teeth together as he got whirled up in the tension of the Gym battle, seeing how trainers could enjoy these battles.

Ash closed his eyes and thought about what he could do when the idea came to him like a bowling ball to a pin. He had to attack and defend at the same time. Thank goodness he had taught every one of his Pokémon _THAT_ technique, Froakie and Fennekin included. "Fennekin, Counter Shield!"

Fennekin grinned and rolled onto her back, spinning as she sent out embers in every direction, creating a spinning wall of flames that also melted the icy battlefield. Viola's jaw dropped and she realised she was no longer dealing with a beginner. That technique had never been used in front of her before, meaning that Ash must have invented it himself. It was impressive to say the least. Surskit had tried to get as far away from it as it could, but a few, strong, stray Embers hit it harshly, causing moderate damage.

"That was incredible…" Viola said calmly, really impressed with her challenger.

"Thanks," Ash smiled back, before grinning proudly at Fennekin. "Counter Shield works wonders for us doesn't it?"

" _Oh yes,"_ Fennekin shook the dirt from the ground out of her soggy fur slightly, most of it sticking into the fur and made her muddy, not that Fennekin actually cared. _"The Gym Leader wasn't expecting that."_

"How about we give you a taste of your own medicine, Viola?" The blond woman tipped her head in confusion at the rhetorical question, what were they talking about?" "Fennekin, Hypnosis!"

The psychic waves instantly put the bug type to sleep, much to Viola's distress. This left Surskit open to what Ash believed would be the finisher of this part of the match. "Alright, now… Ember Charge!" Fennekin started up a Flame Charge again, this time twirling in the air and adding Ember to add to the damage taken. The swirling jet of fire smashed into Surskit, sending it flying back into a wall and into a state of unconsciousness.

"Surskit is unable to battle, Fennekin wins." The referee announced, which caused Mairin to whoop happily at the fact her friend had already won a round.

"He beat it! He really did!" She grinned, stopping as she noticed Alain's stern expression.

"Fennekin is exhausted and is still feeling the damage from all those Quick Attacks," he noted intelligently. "She won't last much longer and Ash still doesn't know what her second Pokémon is."

Viola returned her Surskit and thanked him quietly before turning to Ash. "You're quite strong, but I don't think you can beat me."

"We'll see about that!" If there was anything Ash hated, it was being undermined just because of appearance or age. In fact, some of the youngest trainers in the world were some of the best out there, taking up positions such as Gym Leader or Frontier Brain.

"Time to meet my other partner." Viola threw a Poké Ball with one hand on her camera. "Vivillon, wide shot!" A pink butterfly like Pokémon formed in front of the challengers, fluttering up in the air happily.

"I'm sorry but you'll have to continue, okay?" The rules of a lack of switch out really bothered Ash, he would have liked to give Fennekin a rest before bringing her back out when she was ready.

" _It's okay. I can at least hurt this flying bug somewhat."_

"Great, Counter Shield, once more!" Fennekin once again made a spinning shield, with Vivillon flying away from it, trying to dodge the rogue embers that flew out from it.

"Not happening again," Viola seemed a lot calmer than earlier. "Vivillon use Sleep Powder!" Fluttering its wings harshly, Vivillon sent spores towards the fire type. Some burnt up in the flames, some didn't and those that didn't caused Fennekin to stop spinning and fall asleep.

"Fennekin, please wake up!" Ash knew what Viola was doing as he had just done the same thing; she was trying to take the fire type out. But with Fennekin deep in her slumber, there was no way she was waking up any time soon.

"Vivillon, Solar Beam!" With the level of sunlight from the greenhouse windows, the lack of attack meaning Vivillon could charge up in peace and the damage that Fennekin had already sustained; one attack was all it took to end this round.

"Fennekin is unable to battle, Vivillon wins!"

Ash ran onto the field, taking Fennekin up into his arms. "Don't worry about a thing, you did amazingly for your first battle, I am so proud of you. Have a nice rest." He recalled her to her Poké Ball to rest with a promise he'd let her out once they had won.

"Fennekin tried but Surskit had already taken its toll on her," Viola placed her hands on her hips. "Now, let me see who you believe will take down my Vivillon."

"With pleasure! Froakie, I choose you!" Immediately, the water type took a defensive stance as he formed on the battlefield, looking over Vivillon judgementally. True, Ash hadn't used him in the battle yet officially other than training with each other, but Froakie wanted to prove to his new trainer that he wasn't useless and that he didn't want to leave him like all of the other trainers he had been forced with. "Alright, jump up and grab Vivillon, and don't let go!"

Froakie followed his instructions, using his lower leg strength to fly upwards into the air, grabbing into the butterfly Pokémon's torso. Vivillon tried its hardest to shake him off but he refused to let go, with the two just flailing around in the air.

"Vivillon, get Froakie off now with Psychic!"

"Use Lick quickly!" Before the blue glow could immobilise him, Froakie managed to lick his tongue over Vivillon's face, pulling a face at its yucky taste. Sparks danced across the bug/flying type's body as it threw its target at a downwards angle, with Froakie using his quick thinking to use his Bubble move to slow down his descent. Without injury, Froakie landed gently, only to be hit in the back of the legs by a sneaky Solar Beam from Vivillon.

"This shouldn't be too…" Whatever Viola was going to say died on her lips as she gasped in shock. "How is Froakie still standing?!" In fact, the Solar Beam hadn't really seemed to have done all that much accept anger the water type starter.

"Not a direct hit, does a bit of damage but not enough to hurt him badly," the next course of action formed within Ash's head, it was time to use Froakie's speed to confuse that bug type. "Double Team, then Quick Attack!" In a flash, multiple Froakie were littering the battlefield before all of them went after Vivillon using the priority move. No matter where Vivillon went to try and avoid the move, it would just fall into the direct path of another one. It didn't help that the multiple Quick Attacks caused a blinding white light meaning that it couldn't see anything and Viola couldn't see it.

"Vivillon! Stay still!" Viola instructed, panicking slightly. "Once you've done that, spin and use Solar Beam to destroy all the copies and hit Froakie!" The bug nodded, stilled itself before focusing and spun on a pivot, firing the beam of light energy out into the mass of water type copies, which dispersed upon impact. Unfortunately, Froakie couldn't dodge in time and was hit head on, making him lose all momentum from the Quick Attack and thus fall back to the ground.

By now, it was obvious that both sides had taken considerable damage, Froakie with being hit by two Solar Beams, one of which was whilst he was a water type, and Vivillon having being attacked from all sides by multiple Quick Attacks, the next hit was going to be the most crucial.

"Water Pulse!"

"Vivillon, use gust to keep Froakie from hitting you!" By flapping its wings quickly, Vivillon had manged to use a concentrated Gust, with Froakie using his strength to stop himself from being forced to the ground. Right now, there was nothing the starter could do but conserve energy for the next attack. Vivillon was moving too much; hopefully the side effect from Lick earlier would be coming into play right about…

Now

Vivillon froze, unable to continue the Gust as paralysis set into its system, rendering it useless. Viola just stared, and smiled, she knew how this battle would now end. Froakie continued out his earlier order, forming a sphere of water between his hands before throwing it at Vivillon. The sphere and its face connected, knocking the part flying type to the ground, were it remained, eyes swirled.

Even though Froakie had won, it had been a close one. He was panting heavily, only just able to remain standing. If the paralysis hadn't stopped Vivillon when it had, Froakie would have been blown across the Gym and knocked out. As Viola recalled her Pokémon, with Mairin cheering loudly in the background, Ash picked up Froakie and smiled proudly at him after releasing Fennekin back out in celebration.

"Way to go buddy! You won it for us!" Fennekin and Pikachu looked up at their fellow teammate with pride.

" _You are quite the battler,"_ Fennekin smiled, obviously even more impressed with the water type than she had ever been. _"I believe we will be great comrades in the future."_

" _I have to admit, you weren't half bad,"_ Pikachu was slapped around the head by the fire type, something she had picked up from Ash. _"That was a lie, you were fucking awesome!"_

" _Wow, you actually praised me…"_ Froakie looked sceptically at Pikachu suddenly. _"Who are you, and what have you done with the real Pikachu?"_

" _What the fuck man? I was giving you an actual compliment!"_

Alexa's words from before rang through her head, coupled with what Viola believed would have been her response if she was there. "What did I tell you, Viola? You'd have a tough time getting around Ash's tactics."

"Well, I should have listened to you more then," Viola rolled her eyes at the mental image of her sister and called the referee over, who was holding a tray with a badge inside of it. "Here, proof of beating me fair and square in a Gym battle. This is the Bug Badge; cherish it as your first step to Kalos League participation."

"Thank you ever so much." Ash couldn't help but let out his excitement by striking a pose and yelling, "I got the Bug Badge!" much to the looks he received from the onlookers. Froakie and Fennekin joined in by jumping up and agreeing with a "Yay!" whilst Pikachu went for the good, old fashioned, "Fuck yeah!"...

He got a nice slap for that one.

Alain and Mairin looked at each other and began laughing, realising this was one of the many quirks that made Ash who he was. It would be something they'd have to get used to, and most likely would pretty quickly. After all, if that battle was anything to go by, they were in for some amazing acts of strategy in the future.


	5. Sparkles and Cracks

**First up, why is this story rated T and not M due to Pikachu's swearing? Without the swearing, this story would be K+ and thus not mature enough for what I have envisioned for the series. I have read many a T rated story with multiple forms of swearing along with sexual situations and high levels of violence but no one has said anything about it. I am keeping this story at T unless the violence in the future demands a rating raise as the next two stories will both be M rated due to violence and other things.**

 **Secondly, thank you all for allowing this story to reach 50 followers and 48 favourites in the space of 4 chapters. I never thought anyone of my stories would get anywhere but this one is and I am extremely grateful. Now, specific review answers**

 **To Dragonic Warlord The Ace: I thought of Counter Shield randomly and I am glad I added it in. I also didn't want Ash to sweep the gym but actually have a challenge, which is why it was a near draw at the end.**

 **To Beautiful-Liar13: No, none of Ash's old Pokemon will return but they will be mentioned from time to time.**

 **To Little White Comet: I know, that phrase suits him well. Oh, Team Flare will 'flare' up but it will be slightly different from last time.**

 **To Satoshi-Greninja: Ash will only have one Mega but he will have a certain someone as well, I didn't just give him Froakie for no reason now, did I?**

 **To thor94: I mentioned about old Pokemon in a past review and have already stated he won't be getting a Lucario. Wild Pokemon (or their future evolutions) that can Mega Evolve can be caught in the wild in X and Y games such as Ralts and Mawile and Onix. ORAS Megas are obtainable in this story so give it a bit of thought.**

 **To MillieCrescent: Thanks, I did say this was anime verse mixed with game verse. It'll become more prominent next chapter. Oh, and in answer to your question, why do you think I gave Ash his Froakie? I do have a method to my madness.**

 **To Sai Og Sus: Thank you for your kind words. Remember Ash is already an experienced trainer at the time of entering Kalos so he would know how to pull off some advanced level stunts. Also, I only covered the first ME special in chapter 3 but the other 3 specials are awaiting in the wings for the future. Ash won't get Chespin cause Mairin has a Chespin and no, we aren't having a team of Megas.**

 **So, because of kiddies who don't listen to warnings, this chapter contains some swearing, not a lot, and neither will the rest of the story until further on in the plot.**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Sparkles and Cracks**

To get to Ash's next Gym match, the group had to retrace their steps back to Lumiose city. Mairin was still going over the Gym battle from yesterday, asking all sorts of questions about any other techniques Ash was hiding from them, only to pout when he said it was a secret. Alain watched them with a smile, slowly getting used to having Mairin with them. Ash had instantly taken to treating her like the little sister he had never had and, in a way, Alain could see why. She was starting to grow on him too, not that he would admit it out loud.

The trio continued down the path, managing to find a different route than the one those Beedrill that Fennekin angered lived on. Pikachu had run on ahead and stopped, but was still in sight. Curiously, he was staring at something that seemed to be covered by a tree. Of course, this was worrying for Ash. Pikachu never stared at trees like that unless there was something wrong. He rushed over to his starter worriedly, looking down at him.

"What's the matter?"

" _Are you blind? Some idiot left their egg behind."_ Pikachu pointed to a green and purple Pokémon egg leaning against the tree, seemingly abandoned by either its parent or a trainer. Gently, the fourteen year old picked it up, cradling it in his arms.

"Is everything okay?" Alain asked as he and Mairin made their way over, eyes landing on the egg with shock.

"No way! Is that a real Pokémon egg?" Mairin's eyes sparkled at the thought of what could be inside. "Where did you find it?"

"Pikachu did, it was just here against the tree," Ash's face flashed with anger briefly at the thought of someone abandoning a baby Pokémon just because they couldn't be bothered to raise it after it hatched or that its parent's didn't have the right IVs. "I think it was abandoned by some lousy trainer."

IV breeding was a huge problem in the Pokémon World. Many trainers participated in it instead of training their Pokémon up the proper way, through time and effort. Lots of Pokémon were abandoned or released if they didn't have the full 6:31 set, something Ash knew all too well about. Some of his Pokémon had turned out to be members of the special 6:31, his Pikachu included, and many trainers bugged him to try and trade away his precious partners for a rare Pokémon or a shiny. He point blankly refused outright.

"We need to get it warm before…" The egg suddenly began to glow and wobble, interrupting Alain's train of thoughts. "Before it decides to hatch…"

"What do we do? WHAT DO WE DO?!" The youngest trainer was screaming her head off, running around in a blind state of panic. Of course, having had plenty of experience around eggs, Ash immediately acted and put the egg under his shirt and jacket, passing his body heat onto the egg to make sure it was warm enough. It wasn't long before a bright light shone from underneath it and he felt the egg vanish to leave behind a small Pokémon.

Alain and Mairin watched as he slowly pulled the Pokémon out from under his clothing, being careful to make sure he didn't drop it. The pokémon was oval in shape; yellow, green and purple with stubby legs. Its slit like eyes blinked at the human who was holding it before smiling cutely. Mairin pulled out her Pokédex and aimed it at the baby whilst Alain looked over her shoulder.

"It's a Budew, huh?" He muttered, noting the same thing that Mairin was when comparing the picture on the device to the Pokémon in Ash's arms.

"It looks kinda different from the Pokédex," Mairin tipped her head to the side out of curiosity. "Does it mean it's rare?"

"It looks like Budew is a shiny Pokémon…" Alain answered for her whilst the little, newly hatched Pokémon decided to speak for the first time.

" _Meema?"_ She, the Budew was a female, looked up at Ash's face before smiling innocently. _"Meema! Meema!"_

" _Oh great, we have a little sh…"_ Pikachu was cut off with a hand to his mouth from his trainer.

"You know what this means, right?" Ash's narrowed eyes made his starter nod immediately in fear. "She's staying and your language has to go, it's Togepi all over again. You are hereby banned from swearing around this little one until she's fully evolved!"

" _But I can still swear when she's not around?"_

"Please don't say that like you're trying to kill her." Ash turned to the baby in his arms and began rocking her gently, humming a tune. The other two members of their trio watched as the Budew cheered happily at the attention she was getting from her meema, both thoroughly impressed by what they were seeing. It seemed like Ash was a natural with baby Pokémon.

"Have you been around hatchlings before?" Alain inquired, smiling at the scene in front of him.

"Yeah, multiple times," the younger male began listing them off from the top of his head. "There was Misty's Togepi, Phanphy, Larvitar, May's Eevee, Brock's Happiny and Scraggy… I've been around quite a few but none of them saw me as a parent figure like this little one does."

"She's so adorable!" Mairin gushed over the grass type, which frightened her so much she cried whilst trying her hardest to hide in her meema's arms. "Huh, did I scare you? Sorry, I can be like that…" Mairin immediately shuffled back a larger distance to make the Budew feel more comfortable.

"Why don't you give her a nickname?" Alain suggested, suddenly confusing the younger two trainers. They tipped their heads to the side at his words, eyebrows scrunched downwards towards their eyes. "Research has shown that hatchlings who are nicknamed by their parent trainers are easily more connected with them as their bond develops and grows. Considering how much you care and love your Pokémon, it would seem like the perfect thing for you to do."

Ash stared down at the bundle of cuteness in his arms with a slight frown. "I've never nicknamed a Pokémon before." He said whilst his brain ran through ideas of what he could possibly call her. "I don't know where to start when thinking about that kind of thing!"

"I just name them based on their species name when I catch them!" Mairin, the only nicknaming trainer of the bunch, took it upon herself to help the person she saw to be an older brother to her. "Chespie and Bébé, it works, doesn't it?"

"I'd rather not use her first evolution as a basis," Ash deadpanned, not seeing any good names that could come out from Budew; however there were still the second and third evolutions to consider. Roselia and Roserade, both of them had Rose in it but, with her shiny colouring, it really wouldn't make any sense. Lia sounded a bit better, but then again, there was one name that was similar that he thought may work. "How about… Leia, what do you think about that?"

" _Meema! Love it meema!"_ The now dubbed Leia chirped, smiling as cutely as ever.

"Leia is quite a pretty name," Alain nodded in agreement to the choice. "Much better than just changing up the species name a bit so it's immediately recognisable." Whilst he muttered that part under his breath, he was still heard by Mairin, who began pouting angrily at him.

"Hey! I heard you!" She huffed and pouted, trying to be intimidating when it only made her adorably cute. "That wasn't nice! Plus, you're the uncreative one, Ash and I have nicknamed at least one of our Pokémon yet I bet you haven't nicknamed any of yours!"

"I just haven't seen the need to; they are fine with their species names."

"See! Hypocrite!

"A hypocrite is someone who calls another out over something they do as well, I'm just judgemental."

"Urgh! You're such a meanie! Why can't you be nice to anyone?!"

"I am nice, to whomever I want to be nice to."

"Alain!"

Ash, Leia and Pikachu watched the back and forth conversation/argument as if it was a tennis match, heads turning from left to right continuously. During this time, he readjusted his hold on Leia so that it was like the same one Misty used for Togepi, most likely due to the fact the two Pokémon had the same kind of body shape. He waited for a few moments until he realised those two weren't going to stop arguing and groaned.

"Pikachu, shock 'em."

" _With pleasure!"_ A evil glint sparkled in Pikachu's eyes as he charged up a powerful Thunderbolt and aimed it at the bickering Alain and Mairin. The two screamed in pain for a moment as electricity danced across their bodies, smoke rose from them after the attack had ended, their clothes charred slightly.

"What was that for?!" Mairin yelled angrily, using her hands to try and rectify her hair problem.

"You two were arguing and I didn't want you to upset Leia," Ash walked past them, turning his head around with a grin on his face. "Anyway, aren't we supposed to be heading to Lumiose? Someone said she wanted to try the pastries and cakes there."

"You have a point there," Mairin's eyes began sparkling as she drooled thinking about those yummy pastries. "I'm coming for you cakes!" Alain just sighed and shook his head, just what had he agreed to by travelling with these two overactive children? Oh right, insanity and a journey full of danger, that's what.

~0~o~0~

The trio continued walking with Ash talking to Leia constantly, due to the little one asking questions about everything she saw. Alain and Mairin even helped at times now that Leia was used to them after hours of knowing them. She clung to Ash expectantly but seemed to like Alain more than Mairin, actually having a name for him which made the fourteen year old blush slightly.

"She says your papa," Ash told Alain when he asked about that said name. "It's common for baby Pokémon to dote on two people, the meema and the papa… I guess she saw you second after me."

"No fair!" Mairin sulked, hating the fact she wasn't loved that much by the adorable grass type shiny.

"If it makes you feel better, she calls you Auntie Mairin…" Ash's words brought her out of Grumpyville and into Sunshine Town immediately.

"Yes! Hear that Alain? I'm the aunt! That means I can spoil her rotten and there is nothing you can do about it!" She cheered triumphantly, pushing a closed fist high into the air with joy.

"Whatever, Mairin, whatever." The two non-Sensors continued to walk on, not hearing the rumbling of something huge and heavy coming their way. Ash panicked internally, knowing he couldn't alert Alain and Mairin fast enough with how quickly the rumbles were becoming louder so, instead, he decided to do what he could do best. Wing it.

"Pikachu! Thunder Wall!" Pikachu did as he was told; mixing Light Screen and Thunder together in the direction the noise was coming from. Alain immediately went on the defensive after hearing the command, drawing Charizard out into the open whilst Mairin blinked with confusion muddling her brain. They waited until a giant mecha rolled into their line of sight, stopping short of the blockade made by the Kantonese trainer and his Pikachu. At the sight of the mecha, Pikachu cursed consistently under his breath whilst Ash growled intimidatingly to show what would happen if the three who popped out from it did. He had enjoyed the lack of Team Rocket in Kalos and wasn't going to give it up yet, if ever!

Music began blasting out of the mecha as rubber covered arms swiped through the barrier with ease. This wasn't the usual motto Ash knew but a variant… no way. Two figures rose from the top of the mechanical disaster, defiantly not Jessie and James but the other two.

"Prepare for trouble..." The blonde haired woman in a black Rocket uniform announced.

"...and make it double!" Her partner added, flicking what he could of his teal hair.

"Here's our mission, so you better listen!" They both pointed at the group of travellers, not caring that almost all of them were giving the rocket members deadpanned looks of pure inner hatred at their horrible motto.

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all people in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"And Butch, of course!"

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"

The two members stood proudly up on their perch, having posed their entire way through the motto, pissing off the already angry trainers who were talking to each other about leaving the area until they were noticed.

"HEY! You were supposed to be listening to us!" Cassidy huffed, her feathers ruffled at the thought of twerps not sticking around to enjoy the wonders of a Team Rocket motto, the true Team Rocket motto and not the crap that those two idiots had cooked up. "Twerps like you don't give us the respect we deserve nowadays."

"I didn't know you guys deserved respect," Ash overdramatically reacted with shock and horror. "You must be sooo underrated!"

" _Totally! Umm… who are you two again?"_ Pikachu added, which the former speaker translated for his friends which caused them all to burst out laughing at the expense of the duo, who didn't react to it, instead focusing on something much more important than twerp opinions.

"Hey, Cassidy? Isn't that Jessie and James' twerp, the one with those hearing superpowers?" Butch asked his partner who nodded in reply. "And isn't that a shiny Pokémon in his arms?"

"It is!" Cassidy's eyes glinted maliciously as a plan came into her mind. Ever since Jessie and James had found out the Pikachu they were trying to steal belonged to an Auditory Sensor due to being around the twerp group whilst an extremely loud noise was in the vicinity, causing them to overhear the conversation between the two older twerps; they had openly told everyone else at the headquarters that fact.

Giovanni, the boss of the organisation, had no need for a dumb Pikachu but hearing the Sensor status of its owner intrigued him. Of course, he had only just given them the mission after the failure in Unova over Operation Tempest. The brainwashing machine worked well whilst it lasted, seriously though the scientists had done a job well done if they had managed to give Jessie and James a high level of competence. Operation Tempest was a highly paid for affair and had set the organisation back a few million, however the boss had met the Sensor during that time and deemed him worth the organisation's attention, sending his more competent members to track him down and bring the boy back to Kanto.

"Look, whoever you are," Alain's left hand edged nearer to his Mega Ring, just in case he needed to set that concoction made of metal and wires on fire. "Leave if you know what's good for you. I am not in the mood to deal with Pokémon thieves nor do I have the time to."

"Oh look, Biff, an edgy trainer who thinks he can boss us around!" Cassidy cackled harshly, totally ignoring the cries of her partner over the fact she didn't say his name right. "Well, we'll show him, right?"

"Right…" Butch muttered dejectedly, tears streaming down his face like waterfalls.

"Like any region on earth could you two show Alain anything!" Mairin yelled at the duo angrily. "You two combined are a quarter of the trainer he is and he can use Mega Evolution so you are in deep trouble!"

" _Or they're thoroughly screwed…"_ Pikachu looked up to see Ash frowning whilst clutching Leia to his chest tighter than ever, due to the two rockets that had made their appearance, probably after the little baby shiny. _"WHAT?! I didn't goddamn swear!"_

"You just did."

" _Well shi…"_ Pikachu was interrupted by Cassidy and Butch, who were controlling one of the arms of the mech to head towards the group. Everyone thought it was going to try and take Leia due to her shiny status but they didn't expect it to wrap its fingers around Ash as well.

Mairin and Alain called out to their friend as he was retracted with the arm and thrown into the mecha's stomach compartment along with Leia, both yelling before their voices were muffled by the steel.

"We have what we need!"

"So we will leave…" Butch looked around as everyone went silent; staring at him out of irritation by his need make a semi rhyme out of their speech. "What?"

"YOU'RE MAKING US SOUND AS BAD AS THOSE TWO LOSERS!" Cassidy roared, turning her partner into a crumpled, shivering mess. "Let's just go, okay?"

"Fine." The two disappeared back into the mecha, which sprouted rocket propelled wings and took off into the air.

"Alain…" Mairin looked up at her older companion to see a face of pure, unfathomable rage. Alain jumped on Charizard's back, Pikachu following in his actions with a familiar look of fury plastered on his features.

"Get on, we're getting him back." The ten year old could only nod as she got on the flying fire starter and clung onto Alain's waist with fears she would fall off anytime.

" _Fly my brethren from another meema!"_ Pikachu commanded at Charizard. _"Fly like you've never fucking flown before!"_ Charizard only replied by soaring up into the skies at possibly breakneck speeds.

~0~o~0~

" _Meema, I'm scared."_ Leia brawled from within the confines of the toy robot shaped machine, not liking the darkness one bit. She pushed herself deeper into Ash's jacket for warmth and comfort as their metal prison sucked it dry from whatever it could.

"It's okay, Leia," Ash tried his hardest to soothe her, still not used to a hatchling doting on him over his other companions. "I'm here and I'm pretty sure the others are coming for us. Everything will be okay…" A shiver racked itself down his spine as goosebumps formed on the uncovered areas of his arms. The mech must have been flying fast through the air, meaning using Froakie and Fennekin to escape would do nothing but make the metal unstable which could result in their untimely fall to the ground and, ultimately, to their demise.

Leia, bless her poor soul, was still extremely terrified by what was going on, only just having hatched a few hours ago. Her meema took a deep breath and began to sing, not with words but by changing the pitch and length of a single word, la, as people tended to do when they were trying to remember a song but failing miserably. The comforting sounds soothed the grass type into a form of comfortable sleep, snuggling deeper into her meema whilst feeling comfortable, safe and happy.

Her sleep only lasted for about half an hour when flames suddenly shot through the front of the material, missing the two captives easily whilst making a large hole in the metal. Ash realise what was happing, rocking Leia in his arms so she would stay asleep for long enough so that they could escape. Once the fire died down, he got up and ran to the hole made, heavily grateful to seen Alain, Mairin and Pikachu riding on Charizard's back. Before he could say anything, Alain shouted over the rush of the air around him.

"You're gonna have to jump!"

"Are you crazy?!" Ash yelled at him sceptically with no intentions of dying today. "I'll fall! We'll fall!"

"Do you trust me?" Their eyes locked for a moment, all emotions being told through pathways to each other.

"W – What?"

"Do you trust me?" Alain repeated himself, making the fourteen year old remember the fall from Prism Tower. Charizard had caught him then and, hopefully would catch him now.

"Y… yes!" Ash jumped, rising through the air for a moment, one arm reaching out for his friends whilst the other clutched onto Leia. Gravity soon took into effect and he began to plummet when Charizard swooped into a dive and caught him, the trainer landing in front of Alain on his stomach, just before the wings. Pikachu, perched atop of the fire lizard's head, gave his trainer a relieved grin before smirking

" _You totally look like a rescued damsel right now."_

"Remind me to bin all the ketchup sachets in my bag for that cheek."

" _NOOO! Not my victory addictive juice!"_

By now, the rocket duo had noticed their captives were gone and had turned around to face the trainers on the Charizard.

"Give that Sensor and the shiny back now!" Cassidy screeched through a speaker on the outside of the bot.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" Alain sighed as he gave his partner a grin. "Charizard, Blast Burn!"

Here's a fun fact for you. Fire, if hot enough, can burn through metal and rubber. Another fun fact, the entire mechanic monstrosity was made out of metal and rubber. So what do you think happened to the mecha thanks to a pissed off Mega Evolution trainer and his overpowered fire lizard? If your answer was 'burn the thing to pieces so that the mechanics explode and send the duo into a blast off' then you are correct and deserve a free cookie.

"We're blasting off like those idiot losers!" They exclaimed as they flew through the air and disappeared with a twinkle in the sky.

"Wow… that was something." Mairin remarked, with everyone else nodding in agreement at her evaluation.

~0~o~0~

Once everyone had been lowered to the ground safely thanks to Charizard Express, the fire lizard was recalled to the comfort of his Poké Ball whilst the two humans made sure that Ash and Leia were perfectly fine.

"Don't worry about me," the fourteen year old said nervously, not used the the attention he was getting. "Leia, are you okay?"

" _I'm okay! Meema was really brave!"_ Leia cheered with joy within the lax grasp of her parental figure. _"I want to be just like meema one day! I want to be strong and brave as well!"_

" _Now there's a surprise…"_ Pikachu muttered with a role of his eyes, remembering how his trainer had obtained most of his Pokémon.

"I was waiting for the right moment to do this," Ash pulled an empty Poké Ball from out of his pocket and held it gently near Leia so that she could do it herself. "Do you want to be a part of my team?"

" _Of course!"_ She hit her head on the middle white sphere and was sucked into the object. Three shakes later and a ding signalled a successful capture. Before he could celebrate, the Poké Ball opened with Leia forming in in Ash's left hand hold. She quickly cuddled into him whilst shivering. _"I don't like it in there! I like it out here with meema! Let me stay out here meema!"_

"You can stay outside your Poké Ball if you want to, Leia," he smirked at his starter, who was still objecting to the baby's inclusion to their plans for the Pokémon League. "A certain someone doesn't like it either but he may have to if he misbehaves around you."

" _NOOOO! NOT THE POKÉ BALL!"_ Pikachu began grovelling at his trainer's feet, crying like Butch had earlier. _"I'll do anything, I swear! Just please keep that contraction of death away from me!"_

"Pikachu doesn't like his Poké Ball much, does he?" Alain noted whilst Mairin chuckled at the drama queen reaction.

"No, not really." Ash remembered his first day of being a trainer. "He would shock me if I even brought that thing out at one point, but he soon realised that as a bad idea." The three humans and one Pokémon, whose name didn't begin with the letter P began to laugh as Ash told the tales of Pikachu's hatred for his Poké Ball whilst the said electric type began to swear under his breath at the situation.

He was banned from having ketchup for a week.

* * *

 **Welcome to the group Leia! Now I have a reason to refrain Pikachu's language so I can still claim that T rating.**

 **Next time; reunions, Team Rocket and mistaken identities!**

 **Thanks for reading and see you next time!**


	6. A True Power

**Wow, thanks you guys. For five chapters, people really seem to love this. And, a few days after the Pokemon Anime's 20th aniversary, I am proud to announce the next chapter which will clear up some of the questions you guys have been holding. Now for the review answers**

 **Satoshi-Greninja: I didn't say no ORAS Megas , I mean Steven Stone is gonna be in this and Mega Metagross is an ORAS mega. Plus, this Ash is a bit different and with certain strategies any one of those examples could fit him. Ash is a speed and attack based trainer, dodge quickly and hit hard so any one of them could work with certain moves.**

 **raincolouredpetals: I'm glad you liked it. I find Leia adorable as well, she's made to be a version of Togepi but with a future of being a vital team member ahead of her. Don't worry, not all Pikachu rude moments are gone, he's quite inventive.**

 **Dragonic Warlord The Ace: Cassidy and Butch will be the main Team Rocket members in this one whilst Jessie and James are following another group of four trainers, you'll find out who now.**

 **Guest: Yeah, but Cassidy and Butch are smarter than Jessie and James, to be honest.**

 **Bigred: Not saying who it'll be.**

 **Sai Og Sus: There is a moment surrounding your little suggestion in this chapter. Cassidy and Butch are at least more competent than the usual TRio.**

 **MellieCrescent: Out of the 7 million people who are Sensors, about a handful of them are Auditory ones and, as such, people want that power for themselves I'm afraid. Leia, she has a name ya know, was made to be adorable Oh, and with you Cassidy and Bitch remark well, see what Pikachu has to say later on in the chapter.**

 **Luktopius: If Pokemon were the basis for humans, then I think it would be easier if some humans kept the Pokemon super senses over the period of human evolution, that and I didn't want to fall down the overused Aura trope. Pikachu will get his ketchup one day, but for now... RIP *Airhorns play in background***

 **Guest 2: I guess that chappy was a bit slashy, but this one ain't**

 **mewmaster89: Leia is cute and of course, the first two things a hatchling sees are its parent's no matter if those two things hate each other... but to be honest, I can't wait to write a chapter where Leia is forced to rely on Alain since Ash isn't around to take care of her. *hint hint***

 **Guest 3: I'm glad I'm doing something right if you love it.**

 **Lector Luigi: I've been seeing you everywhere lately but thanks for your reviews, I'm glad you liked the battle and other aspects of the series as a whole. I'm glad I've done well with the personalities, I was kinda worried about messing them up.**

 **Darkspider: Well, when I hear Pikachu talking, I can always imagine him being a rude mouthed humour monster instead of the cute mascot he's known for being for kids. That's just me anyway. Yeah, I haven't seen a story with Ash getting a Budew and I have a Shiny Roserade in Sun and Moon who is kicking ass right now, so I think this Fairy type destroyer is going to be a vital member of Ash's team in the future, one she's evolved. Also, Fennekin isn't like Serena's one in the anime and in this series, she's gonna evolve all the way and be a major battler for the team, contrary to the Fennekin norms in fan's eyes.**

 **Once again, thank you for everything, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **A True Power**

"So many food stores, so little time!" Mairin grinned as she pushed her face up against the glass windows of the bakeries and café's around Lumiose. "I really want to try them all!"

"This isn't our last visit to Lumiose, Mairin," Ash smiled at her kindly, readjusting Leia in his arms as he spoke. "I need to come back to obtain the Lumiose Gym Badge, what we can't do today we can do then, okay?" The younger trainer looked hesitant but nodded in response.

"Okay… hey, where's Alain?" She had just noticed their companion's disappearance due to her face being squished by a wall of transparent glass.

"He said he had to do something important," the older trainer answered, staring out to the distant buildings in the city for no apparent reason. "Until he's done, we're free to go wherever we want." Mairin, at first, was a bit worried but when she realised that meant no grouchy mc-baggypants for the next few hours, she jumped up in joy and whooped loudly. Leia stared at her actions curiously whilst Pikachu sniggered.

" _I thought I was the only one who hated that guy's douche-y attitude!"_ He jumped over to Mairin's shoulder and held out his paw for a high five. _"Put it there, couz!"_ Mairin, albeit not having her friend's rare gift of being able to understand Pokémon, realised what Pikachu was trying to convey and didn't leave him hanging.

" _Meema, why don't they like papa?"_ Leia asked with an innocent expression, staring up at her surrogate mother.

"Well, he doesn't have the best of attitudes towards others…" Ash chuckled nervously as he tried to explain without triggering Pikachu into going on a rude tangent. "And he's not that nice to Aunt Mairin, but Pikachu just hates everyone so there's that."

" _I do not hate EVERYONE,"_ Pikachu huffed with a pout at his trainer's words. _"I just hate most people! No seriously, he is not good daddy material, I'll say that."_

" _But I saw him after meema so he's papa!"_ Leia argued from Ash's arms, getting extremely defensive of the second being she saw when she first entered the world.

" _And that's why I'll never get babies,"_ the electric type groaned, slapping his paw to his face before dragging it down to his chin. _"The first things it sees are its parents, even if it's a tree and a Pokémon!"_

"Pikachu, don't be rude, you were a hatchling once." Ash's scolding only caused a rolling of the eyes, something a rebellious teenager would immediately do.

" _Yeah, so?"_ He sighed, shaking his head at his trainer. _"I didn't make my trainer gay because of it."_

"W-w-what?" Ash spluttered at Pikachu's words, eyes wide open with shock. "What did you just say?"

" _Gay, G…A…Y like 'Ha! GAAAY!',"_ Pikachu copied the actions of the quoted meme to a T, rising on his hind legs with his paws at his mouth. _"It's like she thinks you and edgelord are a couple or something."_

" _Meema, what does gay mean?"_ It was at this point, Ash slapped Pikachu around the back of the head with a furious expression on his face, yet there was no sign of any blushing.

"Don't you dare say anything like that around Leia again," he said dangerously, venom dripping off of every word which made Pikachu cower in fear of his trainer for the first time in forever. Ash took a deep breath before he smiled at the baby in his arms. "Ignore what he says, Leia. Pikachu is just being stupid."

" _Okay meema!"_ Thank goodness that the grass type was so innocent and agreeable. Mairin looked up from her cake induced dream, overhearing the argument.

"Is everything okay back there?" She asked, actually worried about the future stability of Ash's mental psyche from that outburst. "You seem tense."

"Don't worry about a thing Mairin," Ash tried to reassure her, returning to his cheerful personality. "Pikachu's just being an idiot, that's all." Before the electric type could argue his case to the only person who could understand him, a conspicuous van drove pass with two people running after it, one of them failing horribly.

"Stop! Let them go!" The faster of the two, whose outfit was almost identical to Ash's, yelled after it, turning back to his sweaty friend with anger flashing in his eyes. "Come on Clemont, hurry!"

"I'm running as fast as I can Calem!" The blonde haired boy in a jumpsuit and clouded glasses answered tiredly, huffing and puffing due to being totally out of shape. They continued on down the street, leaving Ash and Mairin to stare at them with confusion.

"Did you just hear what I heard?" Mairin inquired, furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to decipher their conversation.

"If I did, then that means someone is in trouble," the Kantonese trainer gulped with hundreds of horrible scenarios running through his hand. "We should go and help them; it may be useful for you and Bébé to get used to each other if we have to battle something."

"Right, and wait until Alain hears about how we save the day!" The sparkle in Mairin's eyes grew at the thought of one upping the grouchy, Mega Evolving trainer. They nodded at each other and ran off after the van and its two followers, glad that they both had the energy to catch up in the end.

~0~o~0~

Alain was sat at the café impatiently, awaiting the arrival of his boss to hand over the Mega Stone he had obtained days prior under orders. He was worried at what Ash and Mairin were doing and if the two had found themselves in a heap of trouble, especially since the attempted kidnapping yesterday on Ash by those Team Rocket members. What if they show up again today? That meant that the two younger trainers were on their own with no way for him to help them if anything went wrong. Looking at the clock on the wall, he sighed, stating to himself that he would leave if his boss didn't arrive within the next ten minutes. He stirred his coffee slowly before taking a long sip, savouring the slightly bitter taste as he waited.

However, he didn't have to wait long as the man he was waiting for had arrived, standing out from the crowd with a large mane of orange hair and a professional black suit. The man, Lysandre, noticed his employee and took the seat opposite him with a gentle smile on his face.

"Hello Alain, how have you been?" Lysandre began to make small talk, hoping to make this meeting as inconspicuous as he possibly could.

"Not too bad," Alain had already realised his boss' intentions and continued the two way conversion. "And you?"

"Very well thanks," Lysandre had called over a waiter and asked for a coffee himself, ignoring the looks of admiration all of the girls in the café were giving him over his good looks. "So, have you got it?"

"Here." The younger trainer opened his bag by his feet and handed over the Mega Stone, orange with pink and blue swirling inside. "If it is what you say it is, does that mean you want to obtain Mega Evolution as well?"

"Gyarados is my partner and I want to test our bonds, is that too much to ask?" The boss sweetly smiled, placing his chin on top of his hands. "Anyway, I need to talk to you about something. I've heard you're travelling with two other trainers… is that right?"

"Yes, Mairin and Ash," Alain raised an eyebrow at the out of left field question but rolled with it anyway. "Why?"

"I just want to know why you've taken on people all of a sudden," Lysandre chuckled at the teenager's scepticism. "So, what are they like?"

"Mairin's okay, a newbie at best, she's a bit annoying as well." Alain ignored the stern glare he was being given and moved on. "Ash, well, he's already an established trainer, really good if his Gym Battle against Viola proved anything."

"I see," the lion haired man muttered, eyes closing for some reason as he went deep into thought. "I guess they both want to obtain the power of Mega Evolution, right?"

"They want to work hard to get it but, I don't see Mairin using Mega Evolution just yet, she's new at the whole trainer business." Alain answered honestly, using his applied knowledge from his days of being Professor Sycamore's apprentice.

"And Ash?"

"More than capable, he just needs to obtain a Keystone and Mega Stone. He's already proven he has strong bonds with all of his Pokémon, not just the ones on him now."

"I see, I see…" Lysandre turned his head to look out of the window. "I'd like to meet those two one day."

"They're exploring Lumiose so you won't see them now," he, Alain, took another sip from his coffee as his boss' one arrived. "However, I bet you have another mission for me."

"Yes, it's to do with the Megalith in Hoenn," Lysandre replied, frowning suddenly. "But if your friend is taking the Gym route he'd have no chance to take a break and…"

"I'm sure Ash wouldn't mind, as long as we make sure he's ahead of schedule for the League." The boss nodded at the response given to him.

"Great, because that's where I want you to go next from Coumarine City, I'm sure your friend will be happy to have at least three badges before your little trip."

~0~o~0~

Meanwhile, Ash and Mairin had caught up with the van and the boys and were hiding behind a bush as they fought a giant Meowth machine. Yes, that's right, those three idiots were back. Of course, because of Alain's overprotectiveness of the two, they remained hidden with all of their Pokémon out just in case they needed to jump out and fight back. Mairin couldn't help but notice that Ash was staring at one of the girls who had been rescued alongside the professor, the one with long, sandy hair and a pink hat. She didn't mention anything about it, but Pikachu did and it was so rude that he was hit on the head.

However, the boy from earlier, Calem, had fallen with his own Chespin at the machine was about to turn them into a fruit kebab whilst running on the internal battery. Having had enough of hiding, Ash jumped out with Pikachu, Fennekin and Froakie by his side gaining the idiots attention.

"The twerp?" Jessie stared through the screen at the fourteen year old who was standing before them. "I guess we found him."

"I wonder why we haven't seen him yet," James added, turning to his teammates "I mean we did come to this region to stalk him for his Pikachu."

"That powerhouse may be a right swearer, but he's powerful alright," Meowth realised something and looked at his two humans. "Did we install any of those soundwave devices onto this thing?"

"No, I didn't expect the twerp today…"

"Well, we're doomed." By now, Mairin had decided to join in and the two trainers, plus five usable Pokémon and one hatchling, had formed a wall between Team Rocket and the other trainers with Professor Sycamore.

"Be careful you two!" Being the only one who seemed to know them, Sycamore cried out in fear at the two trainer's safety.

"We need to get past the armour to the internal battery were Pikachu can shock it," Ash explained his plan to Mairin. "Do you think you could help me with that?"

"What do you have in mind?" Mairin smirked, wanting to pound down another group of Team Rocket members after what happened yesterday.

"I'll have Fennekin and Froakie use a constant mix of Ember and Water Pulse to heat up and cool down the metal until you can use Chespie's Pin Missile to destroy the weakened metal," he began grinning with a scary look on his face. "And then we destroy it!"

"I'm with you on that!"

"Alright, you two heard me, Fennekin and Froakie, attack!" The fire and water starters immediately followed Ash's instructions, firing their STAB attacks at the machine on and off to make sure that the metal was weakened. Despite Team Rocket's best efforts, the consistent molten state of the metal to its normal form caused its structure to falter and, as such, a single Pin Missile ripped the thing apart like it was butter.

"We're…"

"Going to be…"

"Blasting off, aren't we?" The trio finished each other's thoughts as they expected the worst.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

" _Goodbye brainless halfwits!"_ Pikachu was surrounded by an electrical charge which he then aimed at the internal battery, resulting in a stunning explosion that sent the trio, and their machine parts, flying through the air. _"Hope to see you never!"_ Once everything had calmed down, the other five people involved made their way over to their two saviours, well all but two. The girl from earlier had flung herself at Calem.

"Thanks for saving me again, just like you did at the Summer Camp when we were little!" Mairin noticed Ash's right eye twitched suddenly and his whole demeanour changed as he retracted himself into focusing on Leia.

"No problem, Serena, happy to help." The two kissed, causing Clemont to cover the younger blonde girl's eyes, who seemed to be his sister as she complained at him.

"Can you two do it somewhere private, and not in front of Bonnie?" Clemont was sporting a visible blush on his cheeks, obviously not used to seeing such affection.

"Oops, sorry," Serena apologised, her hands clutching at her boyfriend's arms. "I just got swept up in the moment…" She trailed off when she noticed the other two trainers. "Oh, and thank you for destroying that robot, and you are?"

Mairin noted that Ash had gone mysteriously quiet so decided to speak up for the both of them. "My name's Mairin and this is my friend Ash, we're travelling together."

"I wondered if you two would meet after you had left the lab," Sycamore smiled down to the beginner. "I'm glad you found someone who could help make you a better trainer."

"Yeah, Ash and Alain have been big helps, well, Ash anyway," she noticed that the professor froze suddenly upon the latter, missing male's name and began to wonder what was up with everyone today. "So, what happened?"

"Well, those Team Rocket members abducted me for my research on Mega Evolution but Serena and Bonnie were caught trying to help me out," he explained as the girls waved with their respective names. "Clemont and Calem came to our rescue and you two came to their rescue."

"Eh, it was nothing," Mairin wafted her hand up and down, trying to show how it wasn't really a bother to be there to save the day. "Those two aren't as difficult as the duo of Rockets we met yesterday, right Ash?"

"Huh…?" The raven haired trainer looked up, blinking at the sudden announcement of his name. "What?"

"I was talking about that Cassidy and Buff duo from yesterday, weren't you even listening?!" Mairin pouted at Ash's lack of attention, acting like a toddler in a tantrum with a pout and everything.

" _More like Cassidy and Bitch… am I right or am I right?"_ Pikachu grinned, to which Froakie sniggered, Fennekin burst out laughing, like Calem's Chespin and Mairin's Bébé, whilst Leia and Chespie tipped their heads in confusion before he got a swift knock to the head.

"How many times have I told you?!" Ash groaned as his starter complained about calling a lawyer. "No swearing around Leia!"

" _Screw you!"_ Pikachu was the one pouting now. _"That was funny and you know it!"_

"Yes, it was funny but inappropriate."

"Wait," Ash looked up to find Bonnie suddenly in his personal space. "Can you understand your Pikachu?!"

"Uhh…"

"That's so cool! You must be one of those Sensors my brother told me about! Can you just understand Pikachu or all Pokémon? Is that Shiny Pokémon yours?" The little girl made Ash's head spin from all the questions until a mechanical hand grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt and pulled her back towards her brother.

"Bonnie! Stop interrogating the poor trainer like that!" He scolded as she crossed her arms.

"I just wanted to know, jeez you're such a spoil sport Clemont," she stared at him, placing her hands on her hips. "Ever since Calem helped us enter the Gym and reprogram Clembot, you've been even more interruptive than ever! Is it because you aren't locked out of the Gym anymore and, as such, have more time to moan over me? Is it?!"

"Bonnie, please stop it," Clemont turned his attention to Ash, who was reaffirming his grip on Leia. "I'm sorry about my little sister, she can be like that at times."

"It's okay, she's not the worst I've met…" Ash replied kindly, thinking back to the other times he'd let his ability slip in front of others, and some of them had resulted in injuries that had sent him to hospital. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Serena and Calem talking over a familiar item, no… it couldn't be. His mind finally shut down at the thought of what she had done since that day seven years ago.

Not only had she forgotten him and what he had done for her but she had also given **it** as if she had the right to do so…

He turned to leave, Mairin realising this as she noticed his movements. "Hey, Ash… where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Alain, he should be done with his meeting." Ash said no more as he disappeared off into the bushes surrounding the warehouse's clearing. Mairin quickly said bye and ran off after him, both of their Pokémon following in her wake. The remaining five looked at each other in confusion over what had just occurred.

"Do you think he was upset about something?" Serena asked Calem, who shrugged his shoulders at her.

"Maybe, I really don't know… but shouldn't we be heading off to the lab?" With a round of agreement they left, not realising the affect one action had made on the fourteen year old boy.

~0~o~0~

Alain was waiting outside the Pokémon Center for Ash and Mairin to show up, having already booked a night there so they could set off the next morning. He smiled as two familiar figures came into view, only to frown as one of them in particular seemed exceptionally down. Mairin was trying her hardest to cheer him up, only to fail miserably as they reached Alain, who grabbed the back of Ash's jacket to stop him going any further.

"Okay, what's going on?" He asked, wanting to know what happened.

"I dunno!" Mairin yelled at him, defending herself just in case he blamed her for the sudden change of attitude. "One minute he was fine, the next he was really quiet because some girl who we saved from another Team Rocket group."

"A girl?" Alain raised an eyebrow at her phrasing before turning to his other companion to hear what he had to say. "Ash? What's going on?"

"She had no right…" A tear rolled down his cheek, causing the two Kalosians' to gasp at the sudden sign of emotional distress. "She had no right to give it away and to a stranger as well!"

"Who, that Serena girl?" Mairin inquired, getting a sobbing nod as her answer. "What did she have no right to do? What did she do?"

"That handkerchief… it was mine…" Ash continued to cry quietly, hiccupping to the the huge gulps of air he had been taking in between crying fits. "It's the only thing I have left of… left of my father." The younger trainer gasped whilst Alain began growling angrily, that Serena, whoever she was, was going to pay. "She must have thought Calem was me because she didn't remember me from the Summer Camp where I saved her life…" By now, the fourteen year old had calmed down and stopped crying, but the tear tracks still remained on his face. "And now he… he has the last thing my father gave to me before he died!"

Mairin cuddled her friend, squishing a sniffling Leia in the process, whilst Pikachu swore thundery vengeance on the girl in the pink hat. Alain just watched, not knowing what to say or do. Like Ash, he had never known his father, or his mother which is why he was raised by Professor Sycamore from a young age. The older man being such a fatherly figure was one of the reasons why Alain wanted to keep him safe and thus why he was staying away from the man now more than ever, to protect him from danger. Although he wasn't the hugging type, Alain joined in, the three friends interlocked by deepening and connecting bonds that were only strengthening over time.

"Listen, the next time we see Serena," Alain said softly, telling his plan to his emotionally controlled friends. "You can tell her about it and, if you can, prove that handkerchief is yours and get it back from Calem, okay? No need to murder anyone over it."

" _I'm still highly tempted by the murder option."_ Pikachu muttered coldly before a glare from Ash quietened him down. _"Are you okay?"_

"I will be, thanks guys." Ash smiled, the others glad he was returning to his happy, normal self.

"Don't mention it," Mairin grinned back as she turned to Alain. "So, are we going to get dinner and gorge ourselves until we fall asleep or what?"

"Please, don't…"

"We will!" Mairin grabbed her friend's arms and dragged them into the Pokémon Center for a night of rest and comfort before travelling again the next day. Of course, the Pokémon couldn't help but laugh at their trainer's actions, it just showed how family like the entire group was becoming.

* * *

 **Next time: A castle, a Baron and a** **capture**


	7. Ancient Traditions

**So no one comments on the fact Lysandre has already appeared? Wow, I didn't expect that.**

 **Anyway, concerning shippings. This won't be a shipping fic for Ash until he's older. This is the dense Ash Ketchum we're talking about and, at fourteen, he's starting to notice love but doesn't know what to do with it. Once he's older then I'll do an Ash ship and some people already know or have figured out what it may be.**

 **Next, the whole problem with Serena and Calem. In two chapters you'll find out what happened that day when Ash met BOTH Serena and Calem, but they don't remember him because being close to death and having blood loss does that to people.**

 **With those two problems addressed, onto other topical reviews.**

 **Sai Og Sus: Yep! But it won't last longer than two chapters, one for each Mega Evolution special one after the other. Oh and Ash's father won't really be touched on much but any Ash father is OC due to the fact no one knows anything about the canon character.**

 **Omni-Creator Kami of Anime: Well, like I said, blood loss makes some people delusional. Ash will get his possession back, trust me.**

 **Cutesaralisa: WOAH! WOAH! This is T rated fic and no, they aren't gonna die!**

 **thor94: Kalosshipping is there because of Serena's crush and due to the fact she and Calem know about Love, something Ash isn't totally aware of.**

 **Mistress1296: See my shippings paragraph above for your answer.**

 **Lector Luigi: I think I've read that one two and how can you forget Ash is a Sensor? I practically use Pokemon interactions every chapter... anyway, yep, the return to Hoenn is nigh well, after two more gym badges, that is.**

 **Dragonic Warlord the Ace: Never side with Pikachu, he's kinda insane thanks to years of Team Rocket attempting to kidnap him.**

 **raincoloredpetals: Yeah, I like writing about these three as a group dynamic. Oh and yeah, wears black and likes to be anti-social... Alain is a total edgelord. Pikachu is literally my view on the Pokemon world, minus the swearing part.**

 **Satoshi-Greninja: Like Mistress1296, see above.**

 **Guest 1: No pairings in this story but you'll have to wait and see in the sequel.**

 **Guest 2: See above.**

 **MillieCrescent: You inspired me, what can I say? Also, please don't make me answer that, you'll ruin my innocent cinnamon roll! He'll reveal all in the future but, until the sequel, you'll have to search for hints like the rest of the readers.**

 **Luktopius: It was deep, and things will get deeper over time.**

 **So thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Ancient Traditions**

A nice meal and some much needed rest had made everyone in the group refreshed and ready for travelling, even though the events from yesterday were still fresh in their minds. Both Alain and Mairin had been weary of saying things to Ash that morning, in case he got upset again but soon realised he was back to his happy, cheery self, planning ahead for the next Gym Battle in Cyllage City, which the group were heading to now. Speaking of, Alain decided to bring up his next assignment as they were walking, hoping he would get permission from the others so that they could go together.

"I want to talk about my meeting yesterday," he was straightforward and to the point in bringing up the topic, noting the confused looks on his younger friend's faces. "My boss wants me to head to Hoenn for a few days to study a relic related to Mega Evolution, but not until I've reached Coumarine City."

"And?" Mairin perked up, thinking ahead with what he was going to say.

"And I want you to come with me," Alain replied. "If we keep to schedule, then the league will still be a long time coming and Ash should have three badges by then, if that's okay?"

"Sure!" Ash knew how much anything to do with Mega Evolution meant to Alain, and was already used to taking time out of his journey for other things such as Contests and helping the Legendries save the world for the umpteenth time. "I haven't been to Hoenn in ages; I wonder how much it has changed." Due to the fact he had travelled with the two for about a week now, Ash had been telling them stories about his past travels, Hoenn included. Maybe this time there wouldn't be an evil organisation ruining everything.

The next few hours were spent talking in between each other, including some moments of reprehension towards a murder filled Pikachu, still mad at that prissy tart from yesterday, as the group reached Camphrier Town, a quaint village with a small castle that was overlooked by an even bigger one in the distance. Apart from a quick look in the market place, the trio didn't stop long and continue to Route 7, where they met a big roadblock on the bridge onwards towards Cyllage City.

"Is that what I think it is?" Mairin pulled out her Pokédex, aiming it at the sleeping giant that looked as if it was lounging around on a sofa instead of snoring away on a wooden bridge. "A Snorlax, huh? I didn't know they could get that big! I wonder if we can climb over it…"

"You'd just fall off into the river," the two Kalosians turned to Ash, who had spoken. "I own a Snorlax and have tried your suggestion before. Trust me, I didn't work."

" _I remember Snorlax almost made you a pancake by turning over,"_ Pikachu cackled at the memory. _"I wonder how you would have tasted with ketchup…"_

"I will put you in your Poké Ball, remember that." Ash glared at his starter, who shivered at the idea of heading into the small space that was the capture device. Claustrophobia really helped with his cynical and paranoid stand point on the joys of life, it made him even worse than ever.

Leia, on the other hand, didn't hear Pikachu but was still angry at the normal type for blocking the way. _"That mean old giant is stopping us meema! Let me at it! I can fight it!"_ She felt the hold on her tighten slightly, telling her she was going nowhere.

"Oh no, no way Leia! You can't officially battle for another few weeks yet or it could seriously hurt you!" He sighed at Leia's pout. "Okay, I'll think about training you next week but you aren't going to be in any major fights until you're old enough."

" _Thank you meema!"_ The shiny Budew chirped cheerfully, snuggling deeper into her surrogate parent's hold.

"Kids huh?" Alain smirked, sharing a secret high five with Pikachu. No matter how edgey the electric type found the older guy, he still liked the sarcasm Alain possessed.

"You, shut up." Mairin gleefully laughed at the threat-less words Alain had just been given. "How are we gonna wake it up to move?"

"Apparently the owner of Shabboneau Castle has a Poké Flute," the seventeen year old answered, pulling a small guide to the region out of his pocket. "We just passed the place so we need to backtrack."

"Aww, I hate backtracking," Mairin groaned but turned around and ran back to Camphrier Town away, leaving the two males behind in her dust.

" _Meema, is there something wrong with Auntie Mairin?"_ Leia asked innocently.

" _Oh yeah, there is sooo much wrong with her,"_ Pikachu rolled his eyes and grinned. _"If you're not careful, that girl would easily blow up the world."_

"No, Pikachu – just no."

It turned out that the Poké Flute wasn't in the hands of the castle owner, but currently held by a princess in Parfum Palace, the really large one at the top of the hill. So, they had to go up there and get the thing back. Traversing down Route 6, covered by two rows of overarching trees, was a nice feeling thanks to the cooling breeze that added to the experience. However, two of the three weren't as calmed as of now as Mairin had gone off the straightforward path into the tall grass, for some reason.

Half an hour later, the said girl appeared with Chespie and Bébé by her side, all of them grinning like the Meowth who got the cream. "Hi guys!"

"Where were you?" Alain asked, still slightly worried about what she had got up to.

"Ta da!" She pulled out a Poké Ball and released the grey cat creature with wide violet eyes that was inside. "I caught an Espurr! Meet, Espi!"

"Congrats on catching your first Pokémon on your own without us!" Ash sent Alain a glare telling him to keep quiet so that Mairin could enjoy her moment. Holding Leia in one hand, he scanned the new Pokémon with his Pokédex. "A psychic type, good against the poison types both Chespie and Bébé are weak to."

"Female Meowstic also have a better move pool than the males," Alain added, noting the female gender symbol on the device. "You lucked out with that one."

"So what did you do?" The humans and their Pokémon continued to walk down the path towards Parfum Palace.

"Had Chespie use Toxic and Bébé use Fairy Wind and threw a Poké Ball at Espi," Mairin answered proudly, puffing out her chest as the group exited the tree lined path, coming to a stop in front of a ginormous castle than anyone would be proud to call their home. "Wowzas! That's huge!"

" _That's what she said!"_ Pikachu gave Ash an innocent look when his trainer glared at him angrily. _"What?"_

"You know what you said and I will put you in your Poké Ball for a time out." The thirteen year old ignored Pikachu from there, smiling at his little bundle of cuteness that was resting snugly in his arms. Pikachu tried to protest but realised he wasn't getting any attention so groaned angrily. That little grass type was taking almost all of Ash's attention and as the designated mascot/starter, he didn't like it.

Of course, he was ignored as the group made their way to the gate, hoping that someone would be there to open it so they could engage in a civil conversation with the princess who took the Poké Flute. What they weren't expecting was an underwear wearing Clemont to run out of the doors and to barrel into Ash. The two boys fell down; however Leia remained safe in her surrogate parent's arms, but were helped up as they recovered.

" _Holy sh- sh- sugar honey iced tea,"_ Pikachu burst into a continuous, loud laugh which was almost shared by Mairin. _"Did someone try and strip you in there?!"_

"Are you okay?" Alain asked Ash, who nodded and redirected the question to the blushing Gym Leader of Lumiose.

"I'm fine, hopefully Allie won't notice that I'm gone," he shivered at the thought of the demanding, pampered princess. "Since my sister and friends exchanged me for the Poké Flute, the Snorlax trouble should be reverted by now."

"Wait, you're telling us that lord sent us up here, knowing full well that someone else was getting his flute for him?!" Mairin pouted and huffed angrily. "The nerve of that guy!"

"He did that to you?" Clemont quickly remembered the reason why he was in such a hurry. "I've got to get going, if that madwoman finds me I'm in trouble! It was nice meeting you!" He rushed past as far as his un-athletic legs could carry him, disappearing into Route 6 back to Camphrier Town.

"Well, that solves the Snorlax problem…" Alain really didn't know what to think at that moment. "It's still light so should we continue on?"

"Yeah," Ash had been busy covering Leia's eyes from the undergarments. "From your guide book, it said there was a Pokémon Center on Route 7 so we should be fine."

~0~o~0~

The next morning wasn't as drastic as the one before, with everyone trying to avoid imagining what the poor inventor – that had literally bumped into them – had experienced in the confines of Parfum Palace. It also made the three say a huge "Nope!" to ever visiting there again. Mairin was the only one who actually benefited from their trip, having Ash translate questions and answers for her whilst she got to know both Bébé and Espi on a more personal level. However, today was going to be spent at a very special facility, one of which would allow a certain someone to train for his next Gym Battle.

The Battle Château.

Mairin had expressed intrest in it as well, so they had agreed to spend the day there, so both younger trainers could use the place to their maximum potential. Upon entering the doors, they were greeted by the sight of a man conversing with a familiar photographer.

"Oh!" Viola, with a red, fancy cloak over her usual outfit, smiled at the trio. "If it isn't you three. I'm guessing you came here to gain ranks in nobility, right?"

"Nobility?" Mairin tipped her head to the side in confusion.

"Yes, it's the way this place works," Alain sighed and shook his head at her. "First there's Baron or Baroness, then it's Viscount/Viscountess, after that it's Marquis/Marchioness, then Earl/Countess, next Duke/Duchess and finally Grand Duke or Grand Duchess depending on gender. Each win obtains a point which leads up to an upgrade in rank. First time entrants are given the title of Baron, five points grants Viscount, thirty grants Earl, ninety eight grants Marquis and two hundred and ninety five grants Duke. I believe five hundred points accumulates to the title of Grand Duke, am I right?"

"Professionally summed up," the man nodded with a bow. "I am Hennessy, the owner of this establishment. However, you failed to mention that higher ranked members can challenge lower rank members with a promise of a large amount of points if the lower rank wins." Hennessy turned to Viola, who had taken off her cloak and had handed it to one of the maids. "Do you know these young people, Lady Viola?"

"Yes, Ash defeated me for his Gym Battle, it was one of the best I've had so far." She smiled proudly at the memory. "And I think Mairin may want in on the fun too. They both have my seal of approval."

"If you approve then so do I," Hennessy turned back to the trainers. "As newcomers to the Battle Château, I hereby grant Lady Mairin and Lord Ash the titles of Baroness and Baron respectfully." Two white cloaks were brought out and fitted onto the trainers, who marvelled at the luxuriousness they held. "May I hope our establishment meets your battle requirements."

"I'm a Duchess at the moment, so when you two get stronger up, I can battle you again in a rematch." Viola nodded at Hennessy and left swiftly, heading back to her Gym presumably.

"I'm gonna find someone to fight!" Mairin rushed off with no idea where she could find her opponents, causing the others to sweat drop at her approach.

"I'm gonna make sure she doesn't destroy the place," Alain told Ash worriedly, sweat dripping down his face at the thought of how much Mairin's destruction could cost, the answer was too much. "Are you okay with finding opponents on your own?"

"Yeah, I'm fine with that," Ash chuckled as he waved Alain off. "Good luck with Mairin!" Alain sighed at the words; he would honestly need all the luck he could get right at that moment. He dashed down the corridor that Mairin vanished into, begging she hadn't done something stupid already.

A couple of hours had passed and luckily, Alain had arrived just when Mairin was getting into her first fight. Immediately the two realised that her new Espurr was a powerhouse, taking down most opponents, due to the dark or poison type mixes thanks to Disarming Voice and Confusion. Although she had lost some, Mairin actually was quite good at battling, even incorporating some of Ash's techniques to clench her the victory. In those two hours, she had obtained ten points by winning against ten Barons, meaning that she was wearing a blue cloak when they next talked to Hennessy.

"I'm a Viscountess! That's better than you title wise already!" She grinned as she nudged Alain in the chest cheekily.

"I know, you don't have to rub it in…" He groaned as she continued to gloat about her position. "Come on, let's find out how Ash is doing."

It didn't take long to find him in the end. They returned to the hallway, noting the amount of white, blue, green, yellow and red cloaked people standing around, watching something happen with an applaud, something Mairin experienced earlier when she had gained her Viscountess cloak. A while later, they had left leaving behind a certain Kantonese trainer in a green cloak.

"Aw!" Mairin walked over, staring at the Marquis sign that her friend was giving. "You've beaten me already! We became first ranks at the same time!"

"You did lose a few of your battles," Alain admitted, causing her to fall to the ground with anime tears spilling from her eyes. "So you gained thirty or more points?"

"I actually have fifty but wasn't counting," Ash replied whilst Leia was trying to camouflage with the cloak, which made Pikachu laugh at her innocent actions. "It turns out the number of points given for beating a trainer increases between the ranks. One for first, two for second, three for the third, four for fourth and five for the Dukes/Duchesses. I took on a few Viscounts and Viscountess' along with some of the third ranks that challenged me whilst I was in the second rank, helped a bit." He turned to Fennekin and Froakie who were out of their Poké Balls on the floor, celebrating their joint success.

" _It wasn't that hard, most of them were just useful training opponents,"_ Fennekin smirked whilst licking her paw clean as a sign that she didn't care all that much for those who she fought. _"At least I can say I'm the Pokémon of a Marquis. Not many can say that."_

" _I'm just glad we can train for the next Gym, to be honest."_ Froakie added, staring at Pikachu who was shaking his head.

" _Look, you two, don't think because Ash has a title it means instant respect,"_ he puffed out his chest proudly and bashed a fisted paw against it. _"You have to earn the respect!"_

" _Who asked you again?"_ Fennekin deadpanned. _"And aren't you the most arrogant, egotistical, idiotic member of our group?"_

" _Hey! The idiotic part goes to the useless oval invading my personal bubble!"_ The electric type argued, pointing to Leia who was congratulating Mairin's Pokémon with a cute little cheer.

" _Leia is a baby, of course she wouldn't be that smart at first."_ Froakie rolled his eyes. _"You're just jealous that she's the focus of Ash's attention!"_

" _Am not!"_ Pikachu yelled defensively.

" _Are too!"_ Fennekin snorted back at him.

" _Am not!"_

" _Are too!"_

" _AM NOT!"_

" _ARE TOO!"_ Their argument stopped as a man in a red cloak walked over to the three, clapping his hands. He ran a hand through his black hair that had little multi-coloured stones dotted through it.

"Impressive, I haven't really seen anyone fight like you before," he held out a hand. "The name's Grant, and you are?"

"Ash, and thanks." The two males shook their hands, politely greeting each other.

"Don't mention it," Grant's smile grew wider. "Hey, if I challenged you to a one on one battle with two hundred and fifty points on the line, what would you say?"

"Two hundred and fifty?!" Mairin butted in, jaw dropped. "Combined with the fifty you've obtained already, this battle could make you a Duke, Ash!"

"Are you sure about this?" Alain asked the Duke, who nodded calmly.

"I see a lot of potential in Ash and, as such, think he would be a great Duke, that is if he beats me first." Grant turned back to the person he challenged. "So, what do you say?" Ash looked at his team, who were beaming back at him. Whoever he chose was ready to dish out the pain needed to win.

"Bring it on! I accept your challenge!"

~0~o~0~

The combatants had moved out to the outside field, watched on by other members of the Château who were interested in seeing how this turned out.

"This battle is between the challenger, Duke Grant and his opponent, Marquis Ash," Hennessy announced as the stand in referee, not surprised by the terms at all. Once, a Grand Duchess had bet a Baron a thousand points, the Baron had won that fight. "The prize of two hundred and fifty points is awarded to the challenged if he defeats the Duke. This is a one on one fight, and, to a good battle, begin!"

"Onix, let's go!" Grant released his titanic rock snake, which was the reason as to why the battle was happening outside instead of in. Whilst it was shorter than a normal Onix, the ground and rock type was still huge enough to cause problems for any opponent.

"Okay, who will I go with," Ash muttered to himself. Immediately Froakie came to mind due to the four times weakness to water, Pikachu couldn't do much else except Iron Tail and Fennekin would be no use whatsoever. However, a little someone wanted in on the action. "Huh? What's wrong Leia?"

" _I can fight, meema! Let me battle him!"_ After watching her teammates in action, Leia really wanted to fight herself, especially since she deemed herself a member of the team too.

"No! You're still too young!"

" _But most people fight with hatchlings, meema! Please! I can take it on!"_ To prove a point, she wriggled out of his arms and made her way onto the field, locking herself into place as the choice for the Marquis.

" _Oh god, she's gonna get killed."_ Pikachu groaned, watching Ash panic slightly. The trainer calmed himself down and pulled out his Pokédex on her, eyes widening to find out she had a lot of good moves already.

"Onix, Rock Tomb!" Grant ordered as his Pokémon instantly obeyed his commands. Without waiting for a demand, Leia copied her teammates by dodging via jumping between the spots were the rocks were going to land. Thanks to the sporadic formation, the right side of the field had been covered from Grant's vision, giving Ash the advantage.

"Leia, listen to me! Spikes then Pin Missile and aim for in between the rocks!" The shiny Budew nodded, forming a circle of spikes around her which she flung over to the opposite side before doing the same with the Pin Missiles. Those missiles that didn't hit Onix remained like needles on the ground, meaning that the rock snake would have to be cautious when moving around the already damaged field.

"You thought you've beaten us just by keeping us still, huh?" Grant smirked before he tutted. "Onix, show them Flash Cannon."

"Leia, dodge!" A beam of silver light tore through the field, disintegrating the rocks stuck in the landscape leaving nowhere to run. Immediately Ash thought this was over, there was no way Leia would have survived that until the dust cleared down to show she was still standing, only just.

"What, but how?!"

"Way to go, Leia!" The grass type trilled at the praise, but winced from the pain caused from taking a direct hit. "Now, use your size to your advantage, jump on Onix and use Mega Drain to regain your strength!" Leia took off like a rocket, hopping across the destroyed right side onto the hazard contained left side, avoiding them to jump onto the rock snake. Once she had succeeded, she began glowing green, as did her opponent who roared in pain at the sapping of its energy.

Onix thrashed with the pain, hurting itself more by landing on the spikes and the left over Pin Missiles. It didn't help that Mega Drain was four times effective and, despite not doing so himself, it seemed as if someone had been training Leia already. Pikachu was so getting a packet of ketchup for this, and a telling off but the ketchup came first.

"Shake it off!" Grant instructed, knowing his Onix was a newbie to the battle scene, just as much as that Budew was, and it couldn't take any more damage. As much as the rock snake tried, it couldn't and the consistent Mega Drains had zapped it off all of its energy. With one last attempt to win, Onix jaggedly flung its tail out, where Leia was, and sent the poor Budew flying to the ground. Leia landed harshly, not moving as the Onix went down. At first it seemed as if the battle had ended in a tie until slowly, but surely, Leia had pushed herself back onto her feet, jumping up and down as Hennessy announced Ash as the victor.

" _Did I do good, meema?"_ Leia asked proudly when back in her meema's arms, jumping up into them from the battle field.

"You were amazing Leia, you're definitely going to be trained with the others from now on." Ash couldn't help but smile at her excited reaction as Grant walked over.

"You have an amazing Pokémon there especially for a hatchling. My Onix hasn't been trained up enough yet but your Budew certainly gave it a challenge." He looked at Leia carefully, who was shaking in discomfort from the strange man poking his face near her so she cuddled into her meema. "A new hatchling at that, I am impressed."

"I think someone has secretly been training her when I've gone to sleep at night," Pikachu whistled guiltily as Ash's eyes scoured over him. "But I'm grateful for that. I was worried about hurting her badly but with Mega Drain, that wouldn't really happen all that often, would it?"

"I'm sure I can see how much she's grown the next time we face each other." Grant nodded curtly, causing confusion for a moment until Ash came to a sudden conclusion.

"Wait, does that mean…?"

"Grant, Cyllage City Gym Leader at your service." The man laughed, rubbing a hand through his hair. "I will be looking forwards to our next match." With that, he left the field, leaving a boy and his two Pokémon who were filling themselves with determination to beat his ass again. Next time, he would be taking a badge from the experience, not a title.

* * *

 **Next Time: A future Mega, an evolution and a fossil restoration**


	8. Restoring the Past

**Wow, none of you guessed the Mega correctly. You'll find out what it is in this chapter, although it may not be what you're expecting.**

 **Anyway, onto review answers:**

 **Dragonic Warlord the Ace: Well, that's Pikachu for you. Nobody knows what he's thinking. Leia is adorable and I want her to fight too.**

 **Little White Comet: Only one chapter to go, I promise. You're right about Pikachu's intentions by the way.**

 **raincoloredpetals: Sorry about the mistake, I changed it as soon as I found your review. Pikachu can be a fickle guy, but he's the leader of team Ash so he has to be helpful at some point.**

 **Luktopius: Nope, Grant was using a hatchling as well, his actual team is Tyrunt and Amaura.**

 **MillieCrescent: Mairin needed the development, and she's getting her next Pokemon now, actually. Yeah, I didn't want Pikachu to be just a swearer now did I?**

 **xdisturbed-angelx: Thank you, I'm glad my story entertains!**

 **Guest 1: Thank you!**

 **Asmodeus45: Wrong and wrong. You'll see.**

 **Guest 2: I said this was no ship until at least the second story for Ash... but maybe, maybe not.**

 **Lector Luigi: Thanks, Leia's small size and hazard setup helped her win.**

 **Thanks for all of your support, hope you enjoy and thanks again for reading.**

* * *

 **Restoring the Past**

"Why do I feel as if those rocks are going to fall on us?" Mairin asked out loud as the group made their way to the Glistening Cave on the back of Rhyhorn… well Mairin and Ash were, Alain was flying on his Charizard smugly. Managing to survive the Zubat Connection cave, they had run all the way to Ambrette Town to get treatment for the bites they had acquired, Leia managed to get it easy due to her meema placing her inside his jacket.

At that moment in time, Mairin was staring up at the cliffs surrounding them as they went towards the area in which the staff of the Ambrette Fossil Hut had sent them in. The scientists had been forced out of the caves they excavated in due to an increase in aggressive behaviour from the wild Pokémon that lived there. And thus, the scientists had given them two Rhyhorn to mount the ragged terrain that they couldn't cross on by foot.

"Because you're paranoid," Alain responded with a lack of interest in her words. "Charizard will knock them away from you two if you're really that concerned."

"I was just trying to make conversation!" Mairin huffed, turning her head away from him. "You're so mean! You can talk to Ash nicely enough!"

"That's because he isn't as annoying as you are, your voice is killing me right now," the eldest of the trainers retorted, letting go of his Charizard's neck to put his hands behind his head in a sort of defensive position that would validate what he was saying. When a harsh gust of wind almost blew him off his precious partner, he grabbed the neck once again with a wish to stay alive for as long as could. "Plus, guys just find it easier to talk to fellow guys, girls are complicated."

"How old are you?" Ash had interjected, frowning up at Alain from his Rhyhorn, which he was riding a lot smoother than Mairin was with hers. "Cause I could have sworn you are seventeen and she's ten. You've had seven years to get used to the opposite gender before she was even born so shut up, put up or go home. Mairin is staying!"

"Yeah, I know…" It was Alain's turn to huff as Mairin laughed at him from down below.

" _Why does edgelord shut up when you tell him to?"_ Pikachu asked his trainer suddenly,having chuckled at the entire argument.

"Because he knows no Charizard will stop me from sic'ing you on him." Ash replied, stroking him under his chin whilst Leia slept within the confines of his jacket. Whilst Pikachu would never admit it, he loved the attention he would get from Ash and was extremely jealous of Leia. The grass type, being a baby, meant it needed more affection and time then he did so he was upset about that, but the ketchup bowl and the tummy rub he got for training the little thing had been a nice thank you from Ash, one he was happy to receive.

Now that it was proven that Leia could take on fellow hatchlings and win, she could – theoretically – take on other Pokémon and, as such, could fight stronger opponents, such as her teammates. Froakie and Fennekin had jumped at the chance of helping to train Leia, teaching her how to use moves and build up power. One training session had passed since the Château and she was already on par with the rest of the gang, thanks to that training session going on long into the night and into the early hours of the morning.

Due to Budew being classified as a Baby Pokémon, it meant Leia wouldn't take long to evolve. Soon enough, she would be a Roselia and able to fight for herself properly. However, it would take until she was a Roserade to stop her from wanting to be carried everywhere by her meema as the line were highly dependent on their parents until the passing of a Shiny Stone as the sign of entering adulthood.

Of course, Ash didn't have a Shiny Stone but he vowed to find one for Leia when he had explained evolution to her one time. She had been enthralled with the idea and wanted to reach her final form whenever possible. That may take a while but still, it was nice to see that she was so enthusiastic at the idea of becoming stronger and reaching her final stage.

"Look! There it is!" Mairin's voice cried out as she pointed to a cave entrance in the near distance, showing that the group was close to their destined location. A few plods of the Rhyhorn later and all three were on land once again, Alain having landed and returned Charizard to his Poké Ball as he wouldn't fit inside the narrow passageways of the Glistening Cave. "So, we're here to find out what is causing the disturbances, right?"

"That's the plan," Alain was trying to be polite to her, finding it easier as each day progressed. He just guessed that it meant he was getting used to her. "I'll go first, then Mairin, and finally Ash up behind, okay? We can't go in as a line due to the narrow passage."

"Fine by me."

" _Oh yeah, we're at the back where we can be ambushed!"_ Pikachu rolled his eyes at his trainer's acceptance to the positioning. _"Remember that we have two idiots on our tail that want you for your ability, they could literally spring from the darkness and grab you up and then what will happen to me?! Think of me, Ash! Think of me!"_

"Stop it Pikachu," Ash rolled his eyes at his starter. "As if that's going to happen…"

~0~o~0~

To be honest, an ambush wasn't something that he had expected but yet there he was, being carried off by a Kangaskhan whilst the others were fighting Onix, Lunatone, Solrock and even some Cubone and Rhyhorn. Upon entry into the cave a bunch of Pokémon had jumped on them, all making a noise about some thieves ruining their habitats or something along those lines. Ash, being the only one who could make sense of what they were say, was singled out as a Sensor and grabbed by one of the Kangaskhan before either Alain, Mairin or Pikachu – who had been thrown from his shoulder harshly onto the rocky floor – could react.

Now he was struggling against the iron grip the female Kangaskhan was giving him as she was leading him deeper into the caves unwillingly. "Look, I know I haven't angered anyone, so can you please let me go? I have people who care about me back there."

" _Our leader wouldn't like it."_ The normal type answered mysteriously. _"Unless we come back with help, we aren't to return. We now have a Sensor; the leader will be pleased."_

"Please don't make this sound as bad of a kidnapping than this actually is," the fourteen-year-old groaned as he hung from under her arm, secretly making sure Leia was okay inside his jacket still. If she could wake up in time, then they could escape this situation unscathed. "I'd rather walk away from this without a ransom over my head."

" _Our leader needs no such things."_ Kangaskhan walked down one of the side paths, leading to a circular room with multiple stones making areas to sit and sleep on. Multiple Pokémon were scattered here and there, but their attention was drawn to their special guest. _"Leader! I've brought a human Sensor! He can understand us!"_

" _Good work,"_ surprisingly a cream Pokémon with a black jaw as some kind of hair stepped forwards, it seemed as if this Mawile was their leader. It was unsurprising, in all honestly, as Mawile were powerful attackers as steel types and, according to Alain, was now a fairy type, which made it immune to two different types, poison and dragon. If taught Agility, they could also be fast, hard hitters. It was no wonder that one would lead a natural group of Pokémon. _"Hmm, he doesn't look like much, does he?"_ Her words made Ash huff angrily.

"Oh thanks, pick on the human your troupe kidnapped, I see how it is…" Mawile visibly recoiled at his mouthy response but ended up grinning in the end.

" _Got a mouth on him, ain't he?"_ She laughed heartily, which could have been interpreted as a good sign. _"Put him down, would ya soldier? We're supposed to be a hospitable bunch to most humans, not some sort of criminal organisation of Pokémon."_

The Kangaskhan took those orders literally and dropped the boy where she stood. Leia went flying out of Ash's jacket, having been caught by Mawile. She peered around groggily, realising her meema wasn't there to hug her.

" _Where's my meema?"_ Leia asked the Pokémon holding her, who frowned down in confusion.

" _Meema? What are you talking about soldier? We have no meema's here!"_ The steel and fairy type was confused as to why a non-rock/steel/ground/normal type was in their ranks but accepted it anyway. Anyone could be a defender of the Glistening Cave.

" _Meema!"_ Leia cried, thrashing to get out of Mawile's hold and – once she had done so – made her way over to Ash, who was clutching his sore stomach tenderly. _"Meema, did these bad Pokémon hurt you? I'll knock them all out!"_

As the leader of the little Pokémon gang blinked in wonder at what she was seeing, the human smiled gently down at the Pokémon who had chosen him as her parent. "It's okay Leia, I'm fine even if my dignity isn't intact. Seriously, I need to stop getting myself in these situations."

" _LEADER!"_ The Pokémon from the ambush rushed in fearfully, looking back at the entrance as they all cowered behind her. _"Those other humans with the Sensor are angry, really angry!"_

" _Listen up, we don't have long so I'll stay and deal with the angry humans."_ Mawile boomed around the room, ignoring the cries from the others at her decision. _"All of you hide until the crisis is adverted, do I make myself clear?"_ They all nodded in response, allowing her to shoo them off. As the last Pokémon had vanished, a very pissed off Alain, Mairin and Pikachu had arrived, bursting in with rage on their faces. However, that rage soon turned into confusion as all they were greeted with was their friend and a Mawile.

"Where did they all go?" Mairin inquired as she remembered an entire group of the creatures attacked them, not one small one. Pikachu, already sporting a bump on his head, walked up to the Mawile growling.

" _Okay, fess up or I bolt ya and I've bolted Legendries before and they've felt it to the next morning!"_ Even though he was being extremely threatening, she didn't even flinch, raising an eyebrow even at his actions. _"What the hell was that about?!"_

" _If your home was in danger then would you not do anything to save it soldier?!"_ Mawile yelled back, smirking to herself as he faltered. _"We tried to get help from the human trainers but no one could understand us, so we needed a Sensor."_

"Mawile… you do know only Auditory Sensors can understand Pokémon, right?" Ash's words caused her to freeze suddenly, which made Pikachu laugh loudly at her slight stupidity. "And last I checked there was around 7,000 of us across the world. It would be highly unlikely that one would show up in these caves. What most wild Pokémon do is steal items from trainers and lead them to the area where the problem is."

" _I… I never thought of that…"_ She stuttered, looking down at the ground guiltily. That didn't last long before she looked up at him with a grin. _"Nice one private, the next time something bad happens, I'll use that approach. Seriously those two motto spouting weirdoes have been worse than those fossil loving scientists, and they take members of the corps as well!"_

Alain noticed the tensing of the two from Kanto and called out on it. "What did that Pokémon say?" He was, however, ignored as Pikachu continued to converse with her.

" _Do they have green and yellow hair, plus are they wearing black uniforms with a red R on the front?"_ Pikachu asked nervously, his worry getting worse when the steel type nodded.

" _Why yes! They were! They were also talking about a mission to do with a Sensor… I guess since you know them it must mean they were talking about your one."_ She didn't hear the electric type groan, or at least pretended to.

" _This is why we should have been more aware of Jessie and James!"_ Pikachu screeched to the heavens, pulling at his ears dramatically. _"They blabbered to their boss and now you're on their hit list!"_

"They aren't trying to kill me, Pikachu."

" _You know what I mean!"_

"I'm sad to say that I do," Ash turned to his friends and translated what he had found out. Mairin seemed indifferent but Alain was still furious for what had happened a week ago. "Alain… you doing okay over there buddy?"

"They will pay." He rushed off back down the caves on his own, causing Mairin to groan and Ash to face palm.

"Pikachu's right, Alain's an edgelord." He turned to Mairin who smiled back at him in understanding. "Looks like we may need to save him from running head first into trouble."

"Maybe he'll appreciate me more if we do!" In Mairin's imagination, she was receiving a pat on the back and words of praise when, in reality, Pikachu was kicking her leg to get her moving again. "Let's go!"

" _I'll lead you to the home wreckers,"_ Mawile announced, grinning madly from ear to ear. _"Maybe if I do then your edgelord won't have his butt kicked before we arrive."_ As she led on ahead, Pikachu tugged at Ash's jacket and whispered something into his ear.

" _She's a badass, isn't she?!"_ Of course, he would say that.

~0~o~0~

By the time Ash and Mairin had caught up to Alain, he was already in a fight against a Houndoom and a Shuckle, both of which were being commanded by Cassidy and… wait, what was it? Bill… Buff… Bitc… OH, that's right, Butch! Sorry, I forgot his name for some reason. In front of Alain was not his Charizard, but a Bisharp. Mairin used the time to get a 'dex entry whilst Ash sent out Froakie, still clutching Leia close to his chest. Team Rocket be dammed if they thought he was going to let them near her again. Alain noticed their arrival and warned them to stay back.

"Look who's come into our welcoming arms, Butch," Cassidy sneered at the three humans and four Pokémon. "The Sensor. I'm sure we'll fulfil our mission today!"

"Of course we will, we're not the same as those three losers!" He agreed, smirking at the group.

" _Funny, but I thought you failed last time…"_ Pikachu deadpanned, rolling his eyes overdramatically. _"True, that Blast Burn was overkill but still, ya lost, dumbasses."_

"Pikachu, not in front of Leia!" Ash scolded him but sighed, realising that now was not the time to be arguing. "Froakie! Rapid fire Bubble, stat!"

"Chespie! Come out and use Vine Whip!" Mairin instructed as she threw her Poké Ball. Together, Froakie and Chespie, when he had fully formed, fired their attacks at the Pokémon of who they were weak to. Water Vs Fire, Grass Vs Rock, at least Shuckle had the part bug type to keep it mildly safe. Thanks to a lack of professional training and/or care for their Pokémon, the two were hit head on. Houndoom raged forwards, grabbing Froakie with a Bite without being told to whilst Shuckle tried to constrict Chespie, but Mawile's Iron Head sent him back into a rock.

" _Let go…"_ Froakie groaned, his arm aching with a burning pain from the teeth holding it.

" _Not until you hand over your Sensor!"_ Houndoom replied between gritted teeth, making more pain for the water type. _"He'll make a great trophy for my Masters!"_

" _You wouldn't fucking dare!"_ For the first time in his life Froakie had sworn at the idea of what those bad guys would do if they actually won this encounter. Rage bubbled deep inside him and spread with a cry of anger, granting him power that he couldn't obtain in his current form. He knew this was coming for a while, but now, Froakie actually wanted to evolve to keep Ash safe, to stop these assholes from fulfilling their stupid, twisted desires.

He pushed Houndoom off before a blue glow covered the water type as he began to grow, the frubble scarf extended backwards and his head changed into a more pointed shape. The light burst from the newly evolved Pokémon, who began cracking his knuckles whilst staring down the villains in front of him. With a quick Pokédex scan, it was revealed Froakie was now a Frogadier and, on top of that, had learnt a bunch of new moves.

" _You ready for a smack down?"_ The water type jeered at the Team Rocket members and their two Pokémon. _"Cause I would like to give you one! Ash, may I?"_

"Go ahead, I won't judge." That basically meant Frogadier could do what he wanted. Firing two Water Pulses into their Pokémon, he rushed in, hands covered in a rocky illusion as he back handed Houndoom before giving the Shuckle another Water Pulse to the face. The two Rocket Pokémon were flung back into their trainers', unconscious after that hefty beat up and due to the damage taken earlier.

Cassidy and Butch recalled them and groaned, realising that they had nothing to stop the group from sending them through the cave's roof and into the atmosphere. They had a net gun on them, but that wasn't going to get everything. Oh well, at least it could grab what they wanted. Mawile spotted their slight movements and smirked.

" _Not on my watch!"_ She became bathed in a dark brownish aura as she tackled the two humans with a move known as Sucker Punch, minus the punching part because she didn't deem it worth her time or effort to punch either of those grotty humans. From the power, they were sent flying up towards the ceiling and even went through it, creating two human shaped holes as they blasted off.

" _They have to be dead, right?"_ Pikachu said, staring at the hole with slight hope in his normally mischievous eyes. _"Please can someone tell me they're dead."_

" _They'll be back,"_ Frogadier sighed, shaking his head. _"But we'll beat them, don't worry about that."_ Mawile turned to the humans with a genuinely pleasant smile on her face.

" _Thanks so much, now all we have to do is deal with the scientists but that's no big deal,"_ She chortled at the ideas that sprung up in her head. _"We can just steal their stuff or something. That'll show them not to drill whilst we're trying to sleep. Speaking of fossils, I have something for you Soldier!"_ She pointed at Mairin, who listened to the English translation first.

"Oh, what is it?" Mairin asked, tipping her head to one side cutely.

" _Bring the Sail Fossil!"_ Mawile called out as the Pokémon returned to her side now that the intruders were gone. A Cubone ran forwards with the aforementioned fossil and give it to the leader, who handed it over to Mairin. _"Just take it to those science dweebs and they can restore it into a Pokémon for ya, apparently. You did well today, and I don't like Baggypants McEdgelord over there so I'm giving this to you. I'm sure that Ash won't mind, right?"_

"Not at all, Mairin does deserve another Pokémon. After all," Ash pulled Frogadier into a hug as he spoke. "This one evolved today and I'm already happy enough from that."

" _Aww, shucks…"_ Frogadier rubbed the back of his head with a slight blush on his face from the praise, he was happy that his trainer was happy as well.

" _When will I get that kind of attention?!"_ Pikachu yelled, aggravated as Leia tried to nuzzle against him in a form of armless hug.

"Are you willing to evolve into a Raichu right now?"

" _What the hell?! NO!"_

"Well then, let Frogadier have his moment."

" _I hate you so much now, Ash Ketchum."_

"I love you too, buddy, I love you too." Alain and Mairin were laughing right now, Pikachu's expressions having spoken for themselves in their understanding of what was going on. Mawile was laughing too, wiping the tears out of the corners of her eyes as she did so.

"We'd better get going, especially if Mairin wants to restore her fossil before sundown," Alain was the one to break the joyful atmosphere, like always. "Those Rhyhorn must be wondering what we're getting up to in here."

"Alright, coming!" Mairin followed him, holding her fossil as gently as she could. Ash went to follow when a shout out from Mawile made him turn around.

" _Wait!"_ She cried out, gaining confused looks from practically everyone around her.

"What is it Mawile?" The human asked, only to get a nervous laugh back in reply.

" _It's… nothing soldier, good luck with your journey!"_ Ash smiled back and waved as he left before picking up Leia as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and Frogadier returned to his Poké Ball. She watched and turned back to her troupe, who were all smiling knowledgably to each other. _"What?"_

" _You want to go with him, don't you?"_ One of the Kangaskhan laughed as both of her jaws dropped. _"I know this place has no more value for your training and you've trained us all up. We don't need a leader anymore as we are one collective group with a specific goal in mind."_

" _Yeah! To wreck the scientist's shit!"_ A rowdy Cubone yelled, holding his bone club up high in the air, only to get a slap from the Cubone next to him.

" _It's obvious that Sensor kid is trying to get stronger, and with that Mega Evolution Emo, he may be trying to obtain it,"_ An Onix snorted at the thought of the eldest human. _"If so, think about it, your line can Mega Evolve and become bosses in the battlefield with that attack stat and Pure Power."_

" _I'd be pretty badass…"_ Mawile admitted.

" _Just go Captain, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity!"_ A Lunatone spoke for everyone else, who cheered with its next statement. _"And I think everyone agrees with me when I say that you should go and get stronger! We'll be cheering you on all the way!"_

" _You guys…"_ Mawile grinned at them. _"Alright losers, give those scientists hell for me! I'll be wrecking other Pokémon for a living from now on so you should do the same to their crap! See ya around!"_ She ran after the human group, tearing up a bit at the cheers of goodbye from behind her. She really wasn't that good at saying goodbye to anyone. Luckily, the human group were just about to get onto two Rhyhorn and a Charizard so she had to be sneaky about it. She hurried over to the Sensor and suddenly jumped onto his side. Before he could react, she tapped an empty Poké Ball and smirked at him. _"Get used to me, I'm sticking around soldier."_ With that, she disappeared inside and three shakes later was caught.

"Did, did you just catch that Mawile?" Mairin questioned sceptically at what had just happened.

"I… I guess I did."

~0~o~0~

"Here you go, young lass." A scientist at the Ambrette Fossil Hut handed a Poké Ball over to Mairin, who clutched it to her chest protectively with a huge grin. "That Pokémon is called Amaura, a rock and ice type from ancient times, now… are you going to give it a nickname?"

Ash and Alain looked at each other with certainty, that Pokémon's name was so going to be Aura. However, they were shocked to find out it wasn't but a similar sounding name.

"Of course!" She threw the Poké Ball up into the air. "Come on out, Mura!" The male, light blue Pokémon formed in front of her, looking around tiredly with a yawn. "Hi, it's nice to meet you, I'm Mairin and I'm going to be your trainer from now on, okay?"

" _Oh-kay…"_ Mura sounded like a young boy, childish but with a constant sleepy undertone to his voice. Being a fossil for thousands of years must have made it really tired, somehow.

"So, what now?" Mairin asked as she hugged her new Pokémon, giggling at how ticklish the coldness of his head felt against her neck.

"We're close to Cyllage City, but it's too late to go anywhere now," Alain explained, pulling out his guidebook. "There's a hotel in the town we can stay in."

"Great! I'm going to use that time to get to know Mawile," Ash smiled, turning to Mairin as she looked up at him with big Eevee eyes. "Yes Mairin, I'll translate Mura for you."

"Yay!" She cheered happily. "Thanks Ash!"

"Anytime." Alain watched them with a small smile of his own on his face. He may not have admitted it to anyone, but he liked the company and really cared for these two trainers, taking to see them as if they were his younger brother and sister. Maybe this journey idea wasn't that bad after all.

* * *

 **Next time: A past event, explanations and a lost memory**


	9. My Sanctuary

**Here it is, the chapter you all have been waiting for, we find out what happened that day when Serena, Calem and Ash met.**

 **Anyway, this one took a while but it's done so I'll just answer reviews then;**

 **mewmaster89: Yep! I love Mawile as a pokemon and she would be an amazing Mega for Ash, and she will once we get a keystone and Mega stone.**

 **Dragonic Warlord the Ace: I didn't expect people to see her coming and yes, forcfully capturing herself only became funny to me after I had re-read it.**

 **14brendale: How many times, this story in the trilogy won't include an Ash ship but... I think you can work out what it is already so... in the future its highly probable.**

 **thor94: No, Ash won't obtain a fossil, he's got one slot left for a CANON capture. Mawile is meant to be, she's military based in her training methods.**

 **MellieCrescent: Mawile's not much of a swearer, it was the Cubone in the group that was. She is going to be bashing heads with Pikachu soon enough.**

 **Luktopius: There are five senses and five types of Sensor. Scent Sensors are actually more common than Auditory (Everything's more common than Auditory) and yes, they can have it hard but they can control how powerful scents are to them. They are an amazing equivalent to our drug dogs in the police.**

 **Floreal: I tried to make it exciting and I guess Mawile's capture was funny.**

 **raincoloredpetals: No problem, I like constructive criticism. Alain is warming up to the group dynamic and soon will become full on mother Ursaring if someone tries to threaten his friends, don't worry. Mura is supposed to be a bit sleepy from just waking up so I want to make him kinda cute for Mairin, plus she needs at least five Pokemon before the fic ends. Oh yes, Pikachu and Mawile will but heads as the two most powerful at the moment. Plus, you are the only one who noticed the evolution! I'm so proud! No, Alain will have his Kalos League team already. I imagined he would be a fully experienced trainer working under Lysandre for a while.**

* * *

 **My Sanctuary**

Serena Jacques never wanted to go to Kanto, she didn't want to go to this summer school made for children of the other main regions. Sure, Calem was going to be there but that was her only saving grace. At seven years old, she wanted nothing more than to get away from the Rhyhorn but coming to Kanto, the native region of the Rhyhorn meant she was trapped with the things for a week. Today was different, the children had to split up and search for a Pokémon to study in the woods surrounding the town. That meant she was alone and Serena never liked being alone in an unfamiliar place.

A rustle in the bushes next to the girl made her jump, scream and stumbled, falling onto her knee rather painfully. Unable to move, she looked up in fear, trembling at what could come out until a small, harmless Poliwag burst out, giving her but a glance as it hopped off on its daily business. Serena burst into tears, having had enough, crying out for the mother that sent her to this camp in the first place when someone called out for her.

"Serena! Where are you?" A familiar voice made her smile slightly through her tears.

"Over here! She replied through the tears. Calem ran into view, staring worriedly down at her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, noticing the bruising forming on her knee with some red lines showing where she had scraped it. "Hold on a second, I may have something that can help out." Calem brought out a light blue handkerchief which his mother had brought so that he could keep his face clean whilst he was away. Carefully, he wrapped it around her knee as a form of support until they could get it properly looked at. "So, how are you feeling?"

Serena tried to put pressure on her knee but yelped out in pain. "It's no good, I can't stand."

"Sure you can." Calem held out a hand for her to hold, which she took and it allowed him to pull her up into a standing position, in the process hugging her slightly. "See, you're up. Now let's head back and…" A rumbling roar from afar caused the two children to freeze where they stood, trembling at the thought of what that belonged to. It seemed as if that Poliwag had caused some trouble as a Poliwrath came bursting into the area, ticked off by the smaller evolution for nicking its food when it saw the children.

Now angry Pokémon rarely calm down and think things through from another perspective, i.e. they realise that the humans had nothing to do with the food thief. However, angry tall grassers' never calmed down quickly and instantly assumed things, such as this Poliwrath assuming that those two children were also a part of the thievery so it went to get its revenge by sending an Ice Beam their way.

Calem managed to pull Serena out of the way as the frozen beam covered the trunk of the tree they were standing in front of in ice. The two children screamed and ran, the boy having to pull the girl along as her knee was screaming out for her to stop. They didn't know where they were going but they continuously ran, avoiding certain danger if they stopped. The constant stream of attacks from the fully evolved water type told them that.

Half an hour later, they had managed to lose the Poliwrath and the two were panting for fresh air, leaning against another tree, this one not frozen by an Ice Beam to the face. Of course, not being from the area, they didn't know where in Pallet they were which wasn't good. At least Oak would send out a rescue squad when everyone realised they were missing, however that may take ages so that meant waiting. Serena sat down at the base of the tree, wincing as her knee burned from the running, on top of falling on it.

"Thank you," she said to her friend from Vaniville after she had regained most of her oxygen supply. "For helping me and saving us."

"No problem," Calem replied, still huffing and puffing. "Now all we need to work out is where we are and how to get back to the professor…"

"Jikken-shitsu wa sonoyōni modotte imasuga," a voice saying something from out of nowhere made the two jump especially since it was in a language that they couldn't understand since they were from Kalos. "Anata wa dōkutsu ni tsunagaru gake no chikaku no mura no higashigawa ni imasu."

Calem and Serena looked up to see a boy of their age sitting in the branch above them, covered in dirt with a grin on his face. His black hair was wilder than anything the pristinely kept Calem had ever seen and he was sure the boy's yellow top and blue shorts had been stitched up multiple times. That wasn't what caught his attention, however, it was the metallic headphones on his head with two wires sticking up from the sides. It was obvious he wasn't listening to music.

"Excuse me?" The more confident of the two Kalosians ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, forgot the Summer camp was on," the boy jumped down from his perch, ignoring Serena's scream as he landed perfectly on his feet like a gymnast. "What I said was 'The lab is that way. You're on the east side of the village near the cliffs that lead to Cinnabar Island.'." It seemed that this boy was one of the Pallet Town natives, one of the people who spoke Kantonese as their first language and it showed with his eastern accent when switching to English.

"You sure?"

"Positive!" The boy grinned again, still able to hear them with those earplug like headphones he was wearing. "But be careful, you're near the cliffs so you could fall if you're not careful, trust me on that one."

"Alright, thanks for that!" Calem helped Serena up and the two walked away with the boy staring at them. They didn't notice the Butterfree that floated down to him and began talking, they certainly didn't notice that the boy was talking back to it.

They rushed towards the town, not knowing they were heading north instead of west, drawing them closer to the cliffs they had been warned about. Of course, that was where the Poliwrath from earlier had found them. Calem stood in front of Serena to protect her, only pushing her closer to the edge than he was. The two children continuously stepped backwards as the water type advanced until one of Serena's feet connected with nothing and the lack of balance caused her to fall backwards. Grabbing onto the nearest thing she could, which was Calem, she fell taking her friend with her.

Calem's handkerchief unravelled and flew of as the children connected with the cliff face on their way down. Cuts and bruises littered their skin from impact and sure enough, the pain became too much. As Serena began to lose consciousness, she heard a voice call out something as a soothing feeling covered her body and she fell deeper into the darkness.

~0~o~0~

Ash never really thought much about tourists when he was seven, presumably because his mother kept him away from anyone but the local citizens of the town thanks to his Sensor ability. Because of said ability, he preferred to speak with Pokémon over kids his age thanks to the teasing and the fact that he had to constantly wear those giant as 'Soundwave Mufflers' Professor Oak made for him which looked like something out of a science fiction film.

At that moment in time, he was enjoying the sun whilst conversing with a Butterfree that he had met whilst lost when it was raining. The conversation was interrupted by two kids that had appeared at the base of the tree, talking to each other. Ash had never seen them before so assumed they could just have moved in or something from another area of Kanto, his mother had told him they were getting new neighbours soon. So, he assumed they could just have moved in or something from another area of Kanto, his mother had told him they were getting new neighbours soon. As soon as he heard the word professor, he was sure they wanted to head to the lab.

It quickly turned out that they had no knowledge of Kantonese, so he realised they must have been a part of that Summer camp the professor was holding for the kids of another regional birth to help them with learning about other species they may not have come across. Pallet Town kids weren't allowed in so the kids either stayed at home or took to the forests, something Ash did a lot just to talk with the Pokémon that lived there. He told the two where to go and they left, with Butterfree floating down next to him.

" _I'm worried about them,"_ she frowned at the retreating children. _"That girl was hurt and they could easily get into trouble along the way."_

"You're right…" Ash was grateful for the fact he could still hear sounds though the earphones, but they were just muffled enough so that he wasn't fainting every so often from bursting eardrums. "Who knows what trouble they could get into. Let's follow them."

" _Right behind you Ash!"_ The human and Pokémon followed a fair distance behind the other two humans, that was until a scream alerted them to the cliff edge. They glanced at each other worriedly and rushed over to see a Poliwrath leaving as the two from before fell over the edge.

"Butterfree, Psychic!" Just before the children hit the floor, a blue glow enveloped them and gently rose them back to the surface. Both of them looked beaten but the girl's knee, once wrapped up by something, had a large gash on it with blood pouring freely from the wound. If he didn't act fast then the girl had a chance of dying. He didn't have anything on him that… oh.

Reaching into his pocket, Ash pulled out a light blue handkerchief that his father gifted him the day before he died in some kind of accident. That piece of cloth with his name in Kanji written on the back was all he had left of the man but if he didn't act then someone's life could end. Praying that his father forgave him, Ash tightly tied the handkerchief around her knee, smiling in relief as it seemed to work. The thing was soaked in blood at the front but the flow did seem to be stopping.

With a groan, he noticed that the girl had opened her eyes slightly, looking up at him as she said, "Calem?" before falling back into unconsciousness.

"Butterfree, can you get Oak-Hakase?" Ash asked the bug type. "I think these two need a specialist as soon as!"

" _On it!"_ The bug type saluted and flew off as fast as her wings could carry her. Ash took off his headphones, wincing slightly as he did so due to the range of sounds that now pounded him like a fist. He had to listen out for the other's arrival so he could make a run for it. He didn't want to get in trouble with his mother again for being near the cliffs. About five minutes later, he heard footsteps in the distance and the worried cries of a bunch of people for the names of "Serena" and "Calem", obviously the two children there.

Ash smiled and took off, popping his headphones back on as he ran, relieved that his ears didn't hurt any more. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a group of children and adults find them and knew he had done the right thing in the end. However, no one would ever realise what he had done for those two, and neither would realise that the handkerchief around Serena's leg was not the one that had been lost to the wind but a memento of a life that couldn't be saved for one that could.

~0~o~0~

Word had spread around the little town like wildfire about the event that happened once someone caught a glimpse of the children being loaded onto an ambulance outside of Oak's lab. Gary, due to the fact he was living at the lab with his grandfather, heard of the incident and immediately knew that a Butterfree couldn't have done all of that alone. Someone had to tie the handkerchief around the girl's knee, someone had to and Gary thought he knew who did.

He rushed up to their secret spot, the hill which gave a glorious view over the sea and the horizon out to the rest of the world. As he suspected, Ash was watching the sunset, smiling whilst in thought. The boy was so out of it, he didn't even notice his friend sit down next to him until Gary had to tap his shoulder.

"Oh, hi!" Ash's attention soon returned to the scene in front of him.

"Hi back," Gary rolled his eye and knocked a finger against the headphones. "You can take them off now."

"Really, never noticed." It was Ash's turn to roll his eyes and he took them off, smiling as his natural ability took over and the world became a wonder of sound and music. "The sunset is so beautiful, huh?"

"Yeah…" The two boys sat in silence for a while before Gary spoke up once again. "Don't lie to me Ash, you helped out those two from the Summer camp today."

"How did you guess?" Gary was surprised that one of his friends wasn't shocked by his deduction but mildly amused.

"Butterfree aren't that good at wrapping up wounds with your handkerchief!" The brown-haired male punched his friend lightly on the shoulder, who mockingly cried out like a wounded soldier and began rolling around in the grass. "Oh come on, you're not a baby. But, why did you practically give her your old man's handkerchief?"

"I didn't want too!" Ash huffed indignantly before turning his focus to a stray strand of grass. "It was all I had on me at the time and, well, I didn't want someone to die because I wasn't going to give them something to stop the blood flow. Plus, your grandpa can find the kanji and give it back to me once the hospital is done with it!"

"Yeah, true…" Gary couldn't help but grin at his Sensor friend beside him. "You really saved two lives, ya know. If gramps knew it was you he'd forever be in debt to you."

"Well that's why I don't want him to know, plus it makes us even," The boy picked up the headphones from his lap and sighed at them. "He made these to help me after the tenth loud noise sent me to hospital."

"I guess so." They didn't speak for a while watching the sky turn orange, purple and pink with the setting of the sun.

That friendship wasn't meant to last, however. As time wore on Gary became more self-centred, agreeing with the other students that Ash's ability was freakish and their taunting rivalry was born. Without the grandson of Professor by his side, Ash was constantly picked on in school with the headphones on due to the crowds of people there. Delia, Ash's mother, decided to pull him out and teach him the rest of the year herself after having had enough of her son coming home with a bleeding nose or a black eye.

That rivalry continued on for the next three years until Ash and Gary were eleven when the former beat the latter at the Silver Conference in Johto, something Ash had been extremely proud of. Gary went off to be a researcher and Ash continued training but the two had once again regained their friendship which was reaffirmed in Sinnoh after the incident which Hunter J. The night after they had spilt off, Ash couldn't help but grin, the only person who actually saw him as a human growing up was once again on his side, not mocking him from aside all because he was the 1 in 1000 born with the abilities of a Sensor. If it had been any of the other Sensor types, minus Touch, Ash would have been able to get away with it but, because of his power coming from his hearing, there was no way around it.

Neither Brock nor Dawn could stop the yells of happiness that night, nor would they have. It seemed that Ash was finally completely happy and, as his friends, they were happy for his own joy.

~0~o~0~

Of course, Ash had practically forgotten about that event until he was given Misty's own handkerchief after they had split up at Cerulean, leading towards their respective paths to the future. From then on in he couldn't help but wonder where his father's handkerchief was and if Oak had ever been given it back. Asking the professor ended with a resounding no and that the girl had taken it with her to Kalos.

Whilst deeply saddened by the loss of such a personal item, Ash knew he could try and find her in Kalos when he wanted to, planning on going to Hoenn next, which lead back to Kanto, then Sinnoh and finally Unova before the Kalos region became his next destination thanks to Alexa. He realised this was the chance he could finally get his treasured item back, that was until he saw it in the hands of that boy.

At first, he was extremely angry at the girl for giving it away, even after she had seen him whilst he was saving her life but then, overnight he remembered that she had called him by her companion's name and, as such, would possibly think he was the one who saved her meaning that he must have had a handkerchief that was exactly the same at his.

Sure, they may have been the same but Ash was sure they didn't understand Kantonese in either kanji or romaji, the two written forms, and as such could prove it was his. If only he could work up the attitude to go and talk to them without bursting into tears or getting angry on the spot. The fourteen-year-old was known for being a hothead, able to burst with anger at the slightest thing if provoked. Food was one of those things but family – Pokémon or human – was a top priority, especially with his father having died when he was young. Anyone who dared mock his dad ended up in agony from the beat up they would get. Knowing how to karate punch and kick someone in the face was useful.

He sighed thinking about how he was going to ask for the precious item back after dinner. Mawile, the newest member of the team, was sparing with Pikachu who was getting his ass thoroughly kicked by the steel and fairy type. He was no longer the most experienced member of the group and it showed with Mawile's diverse move pool. Frogadier and Fennekin were yelling at the electric type to get a grip.

Alain's entire team was out, revealing a male Unfezant, Bisharp, Weavile, Charizard, Tyranitar and a Metagross, all of which seemed to be extremely well trained whilst Mairin's Chespie, Bébé, Espi and Mura were running around chasing each other. Only Leia stayed by his side, sleeping in his arms, unaware of the carnage going on around her. Gently, he cuddled her closer as his insecurities caught up to him. What if he never got his father's gift back? Would his dad hate him from above or wherever he was at that moment in time? It pained him to think about it.

He didn't even know that the tears were rolling down his eyes until they hit Leia on the head, who looked up to her crying meema with worry.

" _What's the matter, meema?"_ Her speech had been improving slowly since her hatching and now, she was just working on developing her sentences. Short ones she had no problem with but longer ones were a bit of a problem. She was just a baby, after all.

"It's nothing really, Leia," he answered, drying away the tears silently with his arm. "Just being overemotional, that's all."

" _I'm here for hugs! You can hug me and feel better!"_ Leia snuggled into her surrogate parent. _"Right, meema?"_

"Right, and I'll never forget it." He looked over to where Alain and Mairin were, smiling as Alain seemed to be instructing Mairin about battles and training, which the young girl was listening to with her full attention on the seventeen-year-old. Ash couldn't help but feel like a proud sibling as he watched them. Overtime, Alain had gotten used to Mairin's presence as well and now, he was like an older brother to the other trainers equally. Mairin was obviously the little sister, no matter how much she pouted about it, further proving her friends' comparison.

Everything would be okay, as long as they had each other everything would be okay.

* * *

 **Next time: A Gym Battle, a promise and a long climb to the top.**


	10. The Climb Before the Fall

**We have done it people! 100 favs and alerts! WOOO! I want to thank everyone who has supported this story thus far and I hope you can stick around for the next 48 chapters after this one.**

 **Something I wanted to add is that yes, I am doing the XY/XYZ movies as a part of the series but don't worry, each character has their own movie. The Diamond Kingdom, the Ancient Djinn and Eruptive Mechanics will be the titles so look out for them in the future, okay. Don't worry, I won't be following the movie scripts and, in fact, will be making my own for the first two and adapting the third to suit the story.**

 **Also, there's a shout out I'd like to make. There is a story called Pokemon Tano Platinum by a friend of mine, Nerdy McNerdface which I'd recommend reading. It's a well written take on Pokemon Platinum with the Stat trainers of Sinnoh as the main characters. Looking for a change of Sinnoh pace? Well, I suggest checking it out! Also, go check out MillieCrescent if you want, they were the one who inspired me to write this series and I really appreciate their inspirational work.**

 **Okay, that done with, review time!**

 **Dragonic Warlord the Ace: Title came from Kingdom Hearts 2 and I think we can start liking Serena again in this story**

 **Dragonsrule18: Oh... my... god. You like my story?! I'm deeply honoured! I love When One Door Closes, Two More Open and would never believe you'd read one of my stories! I like Alain and after four years, you'd think Ash would be a mature trainer who knows what he's doing which is what I'd planned with this story. Everyone here likes Pikachu's mouth for some reason, I just love writing him. Also, yeah, chapter nine was sweet and slightly saddening to write.**

 **14brendale; To answer your questions in order... Yes, Yes, No (he has Sensor abilities for a REASON), Yes (Second movie), No, No, Maybe (Depends which old friends) It's okay, I'm excited too! 100 favs and alerts make anyone excited!**

 **Raze Olympus: Yep! Let's get the hashtag trending! #GiveAshBackHisHandkerchief! He'll get it back in Coumarine.**

 **MillieCrescent: He doesn't have to, a talk is all he needs.**

 **northwind123: Thanks and it's uploaded now!**

 **WARNING: Pikachu swearing inbound, don't likey then skip past Pikachu's section to Mawile and we should be good.**

 **Thanks once again for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **The Climb Before the Fall**

Cyllage City was reasonably large with a mountain at the side where it connected to the Zubat Cave which the trio of travellers hated so much. However, unlike with Santalune City, the group knew where they needed to go. After having done extensive research on Cyllage City, they knew that the Gym was carved into the mountain, thus making Ash presume that Grant trained rock types like Brock used to before he became a Pokémon Doctor/breeder. Onix was a baby, just like Leia was, and that meant Grant had two unknown Pokémon awaiting him. Ash already knew who he was going to use as Mairin pestered him for information.

"So, are you going to use Frogadier? I mean Fennekin isn't the best option for a rock type gym." Alain's teachings had been paying off and Mairin knew almost all of the type disadvantages off by heart. The eldest member had joked that Ash needed to learn his with all the types he had sent a type weak member against a stronger type. That however, meant nothing. Masters were supposed to be able to turn a disadvantage into an advantage and Ash had decided to start learning how to do that earlier than most.

"I know but I'm not using either Frogadier or Fennekin today, they battled in my last Gym match." Ash replied, smiling down at Leia who was bursting with excitement to see her first Gym battle. The young shiny Budew had been instructed to watch alongside Alain and Mairin so she could pick up things that would help with her own training.

"So that means you're using Mawile and Pikachu?" Alain raised an eyebrow. "But those two are your strongest and this is the second gym."

"I don't know what Pokémon Grant has," the Kantonese Sensor admitted, noting Pikachu's creepy grin beside him – the electric type was obviously thinking of how he was going to kick ass – with a shiver. "But if they are anything like his Onix then I need to be cautious, also, neither have battled in a Kalos Gym yet and I want to give everyone a fair chance. Once Leia's up to it and soon, I think, she'll battle as well."

It had been noted by Ash that both his little Budew and Fennekin were both close to evolution. Fennekin's ear tufts had turned a brighter red and white fur had started showing around her neck. Baby Pokémon were known for evolving quickly, almost as quick as bug types, and it showed with how much bigger Leia was getting. Once she was Roselia size – and no, it wasn't like the Pokédex incorrectly stated as 0.3 metres – they were at most 0.6 dependant of how much sunlight they had obtained and since Leia had been constantly out of her Poké Ball, she would be a larger Roselia but still small enough to be carried until a Shiny Stone had been obtained.

"Sounds like a good plan," Alain nodded in agreement to the explanation. "Mawile is part steel so already has an advantage, and doesn't Pikachu know a steel type move, Iron Tail?"

"Yep, and a few other super effectives!" It was common knowledge than Pokémon did indeed know more than just four measly moves, they knew all of them. Only advanced trainers could ever command and remember all the moves their Pokémon has ever learnt and, as such, normally stuck to the same four move limit that most Gym Leaders were restricted under by the Pokémon League rules. Even when he was starting out, Ash wanted to not restrict his Pokémon's move pools and took the time out of his life to read and remember each and every one. It didn't help that evolution brought about a bunch of new moves that a Pokémon instantly learned but, sometimes, couldn't perfect without trainer help, something the fourteen-year-old knew from experience. Both himself and Alain had agreed to help Mairin with this as well, considering her want to remember every move her Pokémon knew. That lead to training sessions between Mairin's Pokémon and Ash's, due to the fact that Alain's were all fully evolved and too powerful for her to face at that moment. She was still just a beginner, after all.

The group arrived in front of the entrance to the Gym, noticing its basic front compared to the art gallery of Viola's place. The only thing that made them know that it was even something more than a cave was the League symbol bolted above the entranceway.

"The last one had a web maze," Mairin tried to peer further in but didn't find anything to hint to what the challenge was inside. "So, what do you think this one is?"

"Rock climbing, obviously." Alain rolled his eyes at her naivety, they had already established it was a rock type Gym a few days ago.

"But I can't climb!" The ten-year-old girl began freaking out, pulling at her hat with fear. "I'm never going to be able to watch the match!"

"Don't worry," Ash gave her a calming smile. "The climbing part is presumably for the challenger; all others may have to climb steps or take and elevator or something. Not everyone can climb and a Gym cannot be discriminatory to anybody who sets foot in it."

They walked down the passageway into the gym and, like Alain had said, a giant mountain like structure with holes for climbing – dug into the rock's surface – greeted them. Somebody was already on the structure, climbing randomly around the thing until his eyes locked on down to the three people bellow him.

"Why hello down there!" Grant called out with a grin. "Here for a Gym battle?"

"You bet!" Ash yelled back up with a grin.

" _And I'm going to kick your ass in the process, old man!"_ Pikachu added with a smug smile, internally excited at his first major battle since entering the Kalos region.

"Great! The field is up here so, when you're ready, climb up." Grant turned to face the other two. "There is a lift to the side if you don't want to join Ash." The forenamed boy looked down at his grass type.

"Now Leia, you're gonna have to go with either Alain or Mairin, who do you want to go with?" Leia tipped her head to one side before nudging towards Alain.

" _Tall, dark and emo?"_ Pikachu tried to continue his sarcasm without bursting into fits of laughter but couldn't help himself. _"Great choice little one, but don't forget to put gothic makeup on the really seal the deal!"_

"Pikachu…" Ash couldn't help but laugh, whispering what he had said to Mairin, who burst out loudly. Alain raised an eyebrow but took the baby Pokémon anyway, heading with Mairin towards the elevator. Alone, Ash turned towards the wall with a grin on his face. "I bet you I can make it up there before Alain and Mairin."

" _I bet you can't… 1,000 Pokéyen at stake?"_ Pikachu noticed the fire in his friend's eyes, one that he would regret betting against.

"You have to give me it too," Ash rubbed his hands together and turned his hat backwards. "You're on."

~0~o~0~

" _I should have known… fuck."_ It had taken Ash under thirty seconds to climb to the top, and it had taken forty-five for Mairin and Alain to appear on the outside of the battlefield, shocked to see that they had been beaten.

"How the heck did you get up here so quick?" Alain asked whilst Grant just watched the group from his side of the court.

"Pikachu bet me money, I wasn't losing 1,000 Pokéyen for ketchup." Pikachu swore at Ash's simple reply, really wanting that sugary, tomato-y goodness.

"Now then, the true battle can start," Grant stepped forwards as a referee took their place. "This will be two on two, I'll be forced into the four move rule and you can substitute if you so wish." He looked down at his opponent. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." The two males took their places, noting the referee's cue to start.

"Amaura, let's do this!"

"Pikachu, I choose you!"

" _Fuck yeah! My turn bitches!"_ Pikachu jumped from his trainer's shoulder onto the field staring down the rock and ice type evilly. _"Hey there, looking good… like you've been hitting, not tanking. Don't worry, I have two moves that help your four times weakness, okay luv?"_

"Don't spoil our plan!" Ash groaned, rolling his eyes at his starter. Of course, Pikachu would use his mouth freely, not that the Amaura cared as it silently glared back. "Let's start off with Thunder Wave!" A low voltage shock resonated from Pikachu and it spread across the field. Without order, Amaura tried to dodge but was hit and sparks flew from its body.

"Nice set up, and since your Pikachu is an electric type, I can't paralyse back," Grant started to smirk. "But I can freeze you, however. Amaura, Frost Breath!"

"I don't think so, Double Team!" Multiple electric types appeared on the field, but the Gym Pokémon wasn't fazed even under the effects of paralysis that it was fighting. The Amaura reeled its head back and turned so the long-range attack cut through all of the Pikachu apparitions, even managing to hit the real one due to him being extremely cocky that the 'dumb dinosaur' couldn't get him.

" _Aw shit!"_ He brushed some frozen particles off of his fur before turning on Ash. _"You could have told me to dodge you ejgit!"_

" _You should do that yourself,"_ The Amaura, revealed to be a female, snarled at him through her paralysis. _"You can't rely on your trainer for everything!"_

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash ignored them, focusing on the task at hand, getting proper attack in.

" _Always demanding, aren't you?"_ Pikachu concentrated and pushed himself up into the air, tail glimmering with an iron sheen.

"Amaura, Rock Tomb!" Lights formed over Amaura's head as rocks flew towards them. Ash simply grinned, thank you grant for giving them two chances to attack.

"Pikachu, you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked his starter, who had landed on the floor in front of him, tail still covered in iron.

" _If it involves slapping that dinosaur, I'm game."_ Pikachu replied.

"Only if you hit her rocks back at her first." The electric type smirked evilly at the suggestion.

" _Ash Ketchum, I love you so much sometimes!"_ He rushed towards the rocks, using his tail to knock them back at Amaura with glee. Grant yelled at his Pokémon to dodge but the paralysis had set in and there was nothing Amaura could do as a STAB boosted Rock Slide was aimed back at her. Once the barrage had ended, she was still standing but extremely angry, covered in small cuts and bruises.

"Iron Tail!"

"Quick, fight the paralysis, Take Down!" Amaura managed to push her status aliment to one side and dashed towards Pikachu, her body covered in a light blue glow as a thanks to her Refrigerate ability. He rushed forwards to meet her, jumping up into the air to land a slam dunk to her head. As her head went down, the ice type pressed it into the field ground and used it to push the rest of her body back towards her assailant, knocking him back towards his trainer.

By now, the two were panting a bit, Amaura had taken two hits, one from her own attack and the other from a supper effective move – Pikachu's only excuse was he was out of shape, he'd taken hits from legendries twice as powerful before. This round needed to be wrapped up quickly but, luckily for Ash, he could still hear the crackling of Amaura's paralysis. It was stronger than ever, more powerful than before. I luck was on his side then this could become a win.

"Brick Break, let's finish this!" Ash cried out, as Pikachu's right paw became covered in a brown aura.

"Take Down, once more!" Grant instructed, only to realise that the paralysis was too much and his ice and rock type couldn't fight against it anymore. "Amaura…" Pikachu punched Amaura in the face, sending her flying back towards her trainer, hitting the ground without the energy to get up again.

"Amaura is unable to battle, Pikachu is the winner!" The referee announced as Mairin and Leia celebrated from the side lines.

"Ash is awesome, isn't he Alain?" Mairin asked her older friend, who nodded back.

"He really has a knack for these Gym battles, maybe because he's fought in so many before," he stared at the panting electric type and frowned. "But Pikachu doesn't have long left so I'm sure this will all end up in Mawile's hands."

"She can take it!" Mairin cheered, her enthusiasm unwavering. She smiled down at baby Leia with confidence. "Right, Leia?"

" _Right!"_ The shiny grass type nodded back. _"Meema can win this! I believe in you meema!"_

The shout had reached Ash, who smiled graciously towards his friends. It was thanks to them that, right now, he felt as if he could win this. He was in the same situation he was in with Viola, with his first Pokémon weakened by battling with the Gym Leader sending out their second Pokémon. After taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he told himself it wasn't over until the end and the end was determined by whoever could counter the other best.

"Very good, I expected that from the person who took out my Onix hatchling with a hatchling of his own," Grant praised as he recalled Amaura before switching Poké Balls to his next choice. "However, I'd like to see more of that spark you seem to have for battling, the same one I have for climbing and rock types. Tyrunt, on the field!" A hunched brown dragon appeared, allowing Ash to scan it and read everything he could in the short time he had.

"A rock and dragon type, huh?" Mawile would be immediately great against him but then again, it depended if Pikachu wanted to continue battling. "Pikachu?"

" _Fuck no, Mawile can take that one, he's hideous!"_

" _HEY!"_ The male Tyrunt yelled across the field.

" _Is for Ponyta, now shut up!"_ Pikachu ran back towards his trainer, whining as he did so. _"Now, call the substitution already, I'm tired."_

"Fine," Ash rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. "You'll get less ketchup but you'll still get some." He ignored Pikachu's groans and pleas to not reduce his precious ketchup. "Mawile, your turn!"

" _So, the private wimped out, huh?"_ After she had formed, the first thing that the fairy type had done was poked fun at her teammate. _"Alright, Sir, I'm ready to face this dragon with a four times weakness to my two types combined!"_

"Great, now let's start off how we mean to finish this battle, Play Rough!" Mawile turned out to be a speedy little steel type and within the space of a few seconds had grabbed Tyrunt before the two disappeared into a cloud of dust. From within the crowd, sounds of punching and kicking could be heard.

"Knock Mawile back," Grant yelled, knowing he was at a severe disadvantage with only four moves on his side, one of which didn't even affect his opponent at all. "Rock Tomb!" White lights formed over the field with rocks falling down from them. One hit Mawile on the way down, throwing her back towards her trainer. She got up with a growl, shaking her head from side to side to knock away the dizziness from being hit on the head. There was now a barrier of rocks between Tyrunt and Mawile, turning into a stalemate. Whomever attacked first would be risking their Pokémon harm from those on the other side in an all-out attack. However, a certain someone's plan didn't include an all-out attack. No, Ash would beat Grant by using defensive moves against him. Especially if what the Pokédex said about Tyrunt was correct.

"Mawile, taunt!" The Kantonese trainer called out, knowing what she would do. Instead of using the more useless move in the situation, she literally began taunting her opposition.

" _Wow, a big scary dragon… I'm so terrified I might just faint!"_ Mawile pretend to feel light headed, placing a hand against her forehead in a mock despair. _"No, seriously, I bet one more attack on my part would have you in a Pokémon Center for weeks. Come on, I am a steel and fairy type, you are a rock and dragon. I'm the stronger Pokémon type wise. I even bet if Pikachu hadn't wimped out, one Iron Tail would have knocked you out."_

" _What did you say?!"_ Tyrunt was seeing red, huffing and puffing in anger as tick marks formed on his head.

" _You heard me. Protector of the kings, ha!"_ She scoffed loudly, cockily placing her hands on her hips. _"The kings would have done a better job of protecting you from your egos."_

" _That's IT!"_ The part dragon shouted, rage blinding his senses as he leapt over his protective rock wall. _"I'm going to beat your ass into tomorrow!"_

" _Good luck with that, steel and fairy, remember?"_ Mawile had to jump backwards to avoid a nice Crunch to the arm. The plan had worked perfectly. If Tyrunt was that enraged, he wouldn't listen to his trainer no matter what happened next.

Tyrunt used Stomp on the ground, causing a miniature Earthquake that hit Mawile, making her cry out. Ground types were supper effective against steel and, if he had just continued that, would have been able to rack up serious amounts of damage but no, he was just getting ready for another Crunch which connected to the ponytail like part of her jaw hair. He hung on like a rabid dog, refusing to let go.

"Tyrunt, stop it now!" Grant cried out, scowling when he didn't get a reply. "I mean it Tyrunt, listen to me!"

"I think we went a bit overboard on the taunting…" Ash muttered nervously.

" _Yeah, no shit."_ Pikachu was grinning as he spoke. _"But Tyrunt has found out what I did a couple of days ago. No matter how strong and boyish Mawile may seem, never mess with her jaw hair. She gets so mad she will literally kill you if you do so!"_

" _LET GO!"_ Mawile instantly used Sucker Punch before Tyrunt could chew her anymore with Crunch. _"Ash, can I knock this sucker out now?!"_ The fourteen-year-old looked at the situation and nodded.

"Yeah… I think it's for the best. Iron Head?"

" _On it!"_ She covered herself in a silver energy and tackled Tyrunt to the ground. The dust cleared to see the dragon out cold with Mawile brushing herself down whilst wincing at the pain near the top of her head. _"Never mess with my jaw you ignorant little boy."_

"Tyrunt is unable to battle, Mawile wins and the match goes to the challenger, Ash!" The referee announced, just as confused as everyone else in the room. Just what on earth had happened in the second round? Grant sighed as he recalled his other Pokémon.

"I wasn't expecting you to use Tyrunt's personality against him," Grant walked over to his challenger, who was spraying a Hyper Potion onto Mawile's head to make her feel better instantly. "That was a clever strategy. Pokédexes aren't just for images and give helpful information. You have honestly impressed me today and yes, you have earnt this." He held out a badge that looked like holes and protrusions in a rock face. "This is the Cliff Badge, proof you have beaten the Cyllage Gym. Congrats."

"Thank you!" Ash took it and, as always, stuck a pose. "I got the Cliff Badge!" Mawile struck a pose, with Leia copying her cutely having rushed over as fast as her stubby legs could take her. Pikachu – however – did his usual "Fuck yeah!" gaining a slap around the back of the head from Mawile for swearing loudly in front of Leia.

~0~o~0~

"That was amazing!" Mairin grinned madly as their group left for their rooms in the Center that night. Grant had given them directions to a nice, in town restaurant, where they had celebrated with a full course meal. "I still can't believe that you managed to enrage Tyrunt meaning you could defeat it!"

"I just figured if Tyrunt didn't like Mawile, then he would go into a state of no control over his emotions," Ash explained, smiling at Leia sleeping in his arms as Pikachu muttered some crazy things in a ketchup induced state of semi-consciousness. "With Amaura out the way and Pikachu ready if anything went wrong, I had a feeling I could win with that."

"You've been winning a lot lately," Alain added, actually very proud of his younger friend for what he had done today. "What, just something I've noticed."

"I've lost against you twice already during training." The Kantonese trainer huffed. "And then there was that guy with the Gabite I faced on the way here."

"So, you're not perfect, whatever." Alain rolled his eyes as Mairin chuckled at their little argument of sorts. "But it isn't the fact you lost…"

"It's the experience I've gained from it, I know." Ash nudged him in the arm with his elbow. "I have lost every Pokémon League I've entered."

"Maybe this time will be different!" Mairin rushed on ahead and turned around, waving her arms in the air. "You have me and Alain by your side so you can't fail!"

"Thank you Mairin, I appreciate it!" Ash smiled as they entered the Center, heading up to their rooms only to fall asleep as soon as they fell on their beds.

* * *

 **Next Time: A legend, Xerneas, Yveltal and Zygarde**


	11. The Story of X and Y

**I seriously would like to thank you all! I am so grateful of what your reviews, your follows and faves have done. This story was one I didn't expect to go anywhere due to the love for the XY family but now, I am not sorry I ever came up with this idea. 10,500 views and 10 chapters later, I am still astonished by the support I'm being given. I'd also like to thank raincoloredpetals for their constructive criticism with a spelling error I had been making for months now. I thank you so much for that and have changed it immediately. You guys are the best which is why I ploughed through my writer's block (Thanks to my new Story idea I'm planning) and made this for you!**

 **Now, review answers:**

 **Dragonsrule18: Thank you so much and yes, you have, this is the second time you've mentioned loving my version of Pikachu and trust me when I say, I love him too, at least writing him. He makes me smile.**

 **Dragonic Warlord the Ace: Thank you so much, but it's you guys who deserve the praise. Uh huh, not long before the first one.**

 **thor94: Thanks, I worried about the battle scene. Pikachu more than Mawile, but still, they are tall grassers, aren't they?**

 **MellieCrescent: Am I really? Wow, just glad I got that right! Oh, wow, I made you cry tears of laughter. Pikachu is comedic gold, he's worth laughing over.**

 **Raze Olympus: For the first one, you'll have to wait and see but no Charizard, sorry, I think Fennekin has the fire type down to pact.**

 **Floreal: I'm glad my battles are interesting and thanks! I should be thanking you guys in all reality.**

 **raincoloredpetals: Thanks for that, I'm glad you liked both chapters 9 and 10. Hmm, with the league thing, you're really just going to have to see but since the next two regions in the series don't have leagues and Alain isn't entering the league... who knows. ;)**

 **InfernalFox: Thank you but as you so eloquently put it "when shit hits the fan" it will really hit a large fan. Your cackling will be well deserved. Plus Pikachu is still fighting and training, he won't get fat soon.**

 **Speaking of Pikachu, the little rodent made three references last chapter when he was called out onto the field. One was to a popular multiplayer game character (who is also confirmed lesbian) and two were to humorous M-rated movies. Get all three correct and you win... a online cookie? Sorry, I don't have anything but the satisfaction you are pop culture relevant.**

 **Anyway, with that over with, thanks for reading and hope you enjoy (Especially with the secret anime episode I snuck in. The timeline is crazy but I will explain with the next update)**

* * *

 **The Story of X and Y**

Route 10, more commonly known as the Menhir Trail, was an enigma to most who passed through it. The abundance of upright stones with engraved patterns on them was cause for concern, even if they were thousands of years old. Both of the Pokémon who were outside their Poké Balls could feel the energy radiating off of them and Ash, being Leia's surrogate parent, knew when the little one was terrified as she would nuzzle her body into his jacket for warmth and comfort.

"Okay, anything that makes my Pokémon scared – especially Leia – nerves me, what is wrong with these stones?" Ash asked, not being from Kalos being a pain to him right at that moment.

"It's to do with our history as a region," Alain answered mysteriously, causing his companions to raise their eyebrows at how he was sounding. "Of course, I wouldn't expect you to know… being from Kanto and all."

"I have no idea either!" Mairin pipped up, causing Alain to sigh at her due to her lack of historical knowledge that all kids knew thanks to school nowadays.

"Seriously, Mairin? Alright, I'll tell you the legend behind these stones and the three legendary Pokémon that come with them." He pinched the bridge of his nose to release the pain in his head. Mairin was too naïve for her own good.

"It started three thousand years ago. Kalos was ruled by a fair and wise king called AZ who, along with his beloved Floette, lived close to where we are now. Everything was fine until a war broke out between Kalos and a neighbouring region…"

"Which region?"

"I dunno, just some war between regions, Mairin. Just shut up and let me finish!"

" _Bloody hell, grouchy much?"_

"Pikachu! Sorry Alain, please continue."

"Thanks, anyway, the king was forced to give his Floette to the army to fight for his kingdom and, as such, prayed for her safe return every night. He never got his wish. His beloved Pokémon was returned to him in a box with her wilted, torn flower resting atop of it."

"How awful! He must have been devastated!"

"He was Ash, he was, so much so he sought to bring his Pokémon back to life by building a machine to do so. It worked and Floette was revived. But, the king didn't end there. By now his hatred had blinded him so much that he was out for vengeance, he turned his machine of life into a weapon of destruction and fired it on the region. The king ended the war, but at the cost of many Pokémon lives."

" _Holy shit, you were ruled by a brethren murderer! I will ask our pal Arceus to smite him with Celebi in the past, right Ash?"_

"Shut up, I'm listening."

"Anyway, the Ultimate Weapon was being powered by a tree with the power of life within its branches and a cocoon raging with the power of destruction. As the lives of many were lost, the power of life seeped through the king and his Pokémon, granting them eternal life. Floette, so saddened by the fact its life had brought the death of so many Pokémon that where now stone with an unusual energy flowing from them, disappeared from the king who was said to roam the world for eternity searching for his partner."

"That's so sad!"

"But it doesn't end there. The tree and the cocoon were both the dormant forms of Kalos' legendary Pokémon. Xerneas, the Pokémon of life and a fairy type, and Yveltal, Pokémon of death, chaos and destruction with a dark and flying typing. Both, when reforming, would draw energy from the stones, and cause chaos when fighting each other. However, Zygarde, a being of balance often appeared to quell the fighting, defeating both legendries when Kalos was in danger. Rumour has it that Zygarde always appears somewhere in the world where a disaster will be to calm the chaos and protect from destruction but there have been no modern sources confirming this."

"Wow, you know so much about it, Alain!" Mairin grinned at him as he had come to an abrupt conclusion.

"Being a researcher does that," he rolled his eyes but smiled down at his friend. "Alright, let's see if we can traverse to Geosenge Town before nightfall. I heard they have a nice hotel there."

"Yeah! Come on, let's go!" The girl noticed that Ash was still facing the stones, his head bowed as he muttered something. "What's up?"

"Just… paying my respects." He gave the stones, the graves of ancient Pokémon, once last glance before running after his friends, not able to shake off the horrid feeling that racked his body when around the stones. Just what truly happened three thousand years ago?

~0~o~0~

A loud scream had alerted Ash to the sky as he was sure a cream blur with a hint of gold had zoomed on past over their heads. He gave a nerved glance at Pikachu, who was grinning evilly. "Did you hear/see what I did?"

" _Oh yes, yes I did!"_ The electric type cackled from his shoulder perch. _"And I loved it! That little cat bastard deserves it!"_

"Pikachu, what did I say about saying things around Leia?!" He shouted at his starter, making sure the baby's ears were covered – or the area that her ears may have been – so she didn't hear the language. If he could save one of his team members from becoming a swearer then Ash could live happily.

" _That I am free to say whatever I like?"_ Pikachu batted his eyelids together with a look that screamed butter couldn't melt in his mouth. Ash, however, knew rightly that this wasn't the case and frowned.

"No, that definitely wasn't it." he sighed and reaffirmed his grip on Leia, who was fidgeting slightly as it was uncomfortable on her body. His ears perked up suddenly at a faint rustling sound that was coming from the left and the right of their group. Pikachu heard it too and jumped down from his trainer's shoulder snarling at whatever was coming near them. Alain and Mairin noticed their defensive positions and immediately realised something was up, trusting both Pikachu's sensitive hearing and Ash's Sensor abilities.

"Is something coming towards us?" Alain asked sternly, hand already reaching down to his pocket so he could grab Charizard's Poké Ball at an instant if needed to.

"From both sides," Ash answered instantly, looking down at his starter who nodded back before he continued to snarl at the now moving bushes either side of the path. "You take the left, I'll take the right. Mairin, help us both out if needed, okay?"

"Right!" She nodded, glaring at each side as she quickly whipped her head between them.

The rustling continued to get louder, footsteps joined the mix of sounds that the two beings with sensitive hearing could hear. A few moments later, two people emerged from either side of the overgrowth with their arms hanging low, swinging from side to side loosely as they stumbled like zombies. Their eyes were glazed over, mouths agape which is how – coupled with the flying, screaming Meowth from earlier – was how Ash knew something wasn't right with Jessie and James. He wasn't the only one who recognised them either. Mairin gasped at the sight of them and grabbed onto Alain's arm, trying to force him to send out his Pokémon.

"They're the same duo from Lumiose City! They steal Pokémon and tried to kidnap the professor!" Mairin practically yelled in his ear, ignoring the sudden growling from her older friend as she finished her sentence. "What do you want?! We're busy here!"

Neither Jessie or James answered, their Pokémon – which Ash's Pokédex revealed to be Inkay and Pumpkaboo – floated over with the same glazed look. It was almost as if they had been hypnotised but that couldn't have been right, idiots were said to have been hard to hypnotise. Nothing happened for a moment as the two sides entered a silent stalemate, waiting for the other to do something until a cold, harsh laugh cut through the air to them.

A woman covered by a dark cloak, with a hood that covered the upper part of her face, floated above them with a Malamar – Once again the dex had gone off without being asked to – using psychic on her so she could do so. Alain secretly switched Poké Balls in his pocket, grasping Bisharp's ball so that he could get the part steel type out easily. Psychic type moves did nothing against Bisharp due to its dark typing and most of the Pokémon's moves wouldn't be very effective due to Malamar being part dark as well.

"Who are you?" The eldest trainer growled up at the woman, who ignored him and turned her head to face Ash and Pikachu.

"So that's the powerful Pikachu my slaves were talking about," as she spoke Jessie and James groaned like the perfect, mind controlled servants they were, acknowledging their master had noticed their presence. "And an Auditory Sensor… he is adorable isn't he, Malamar?"

" _Quite Madame X,"_ Malamar nodded, his own eyes narrowing maliciously. _"A perfect little pet!"_

"You aren't having them!" Mairin had, by then, released her hold on Alain and was now clutching Ash's arm to prove her point. "They're ours, you hear and no creepy psychic type is gonna stop that!"

" _We aren't yours, you dim-witted child!"_ Pikachu spat at the very thought of it. _"It's illegal to deal humans now! Plus, Ash is MY trainer so butt out of it you little… SHIT!"_ A Shadow Ball had interrupted Pikachu mid-rant, but a quick backflip had averted him from getting hit. Now he was really angry. _"What was that for you…"_ At that point, the electric type was saying every word under the sun towards Malamar, shocking the male deeply whilst also making Ash blush at the stream of rude words his starter was throwing towards their attackers. However, he really didn't think "Barbra Streisand" was technically a swear word.

"Malamar, servants, get me that boy and his Pikachu, NOW!" Madame X ordered swiftly. As her cronies advanced, Leia jumped out of Ash's arms when Alain released Bisharp. She glared up at them with a furious rage.

" _Leave my meema alone!"_ She fired a Pin Missile towards the Malamar who scoffed and sent it, and her, flying with a Psychic. Leia hit a tree and fainted on the spot due to the force of the impact, sliding down the trunk to the bottom where she came to rest.

"Leia!" Ash cried out and tried to run towards the baby Pokémon, not knowing that his shout had drawn all attention away from their attackers. His sprint towards Leia was suddenly stopped by the feeling of being lifted off of the ground, limbs unable to move minus the facial features. An unnatural blue glow betrayed the move to be another Psychic, something that was being used on Pikachu as well. His ascent was stopped by a force trying to stop him, more specifically his two friends who were holding onto his foot like there was no tomorrow. "Alain, if you let go I swear I'll kick your butt into next week!"

"I wasn't planning on letting go anyway!" The seventeen-year-old shouted back, straining against Malamar's attack. Madame X huffed and sent glares down to her slaves, who instantly reacted as if they had read her mind.

"Pumpkaboo, Shadow Ball…"

"Inkay, Psybeam…"

"Bisharp, Protect!" It was too late, the attacks hit the two trainers which caused them to let go and – like Pikachu – the fourteen-year-old Kantonese trainer was pulled up to Madame X's side in the air. She smiled as she stroked the boy's cheek, ignoring his grimace.

"We're done here!" Madame X announced as Malamar used Psychic once more to pick up the servants. They started to float away as Mairin and Alain were regaining control of their bodies after flying to the ground. The screams for help from their two friends were painful to hear but there was nothing they could do at that moment. Once they had fully regained control, they were gone and there was no way to track them precisely. Immediately, Alain realised his Charizard and told the fire type what he needed to be searching for.

As Charizard took off, the two Kalosians ran in the same direction as Madame X and her Malamar on foot. Whatever they were planning wasn't good and they had a friend to rescue.

~0~o~0~

Ash didn't know what time he'd lost consciousness but it had to be a long time before they had reached any kind of a building which is why he was so confused when he woke up. Pikachu was still snoring away by his side as he noted the warehouse feel of the room, minus the large throne like structure made of broken mechanical items. Some rays of sunlight beamed down through the high windows but other than that, the room was totally dark.

He pushed himself into a sitting position and immediately began searching for an exit. Like hell he was going to be some Arceus dammed pet to a psychotic madwoman with a creepy ass Pokémon just because he was one of the special 7,000 snowflakes that could understand it. Plus psychic types could easily project their thoughts, as such through Hypnosis, but then again that Malamar could be just as insane as his mistress.

"Come on Pikachu, wake up!" Ash began shaking his starter at the shoulders harshly, only just managing to wake him from his deep slumber.

" _What the hell?!"_ Pikachu complained, glaring at his trainer with as much fury as he could. _"I was having a great dream!"_

"Yeah, and we've been kidnapped so we need to get out now!" The human scolded the Pokémon harshly. "I don't want to stick around any longer!" Pikachu realised what Ash was going on about and nodded as a shiver ran up his spine.

" _Me neither, did you hear her? HER pet?! Everyone knows you are MY trainer and that's how it will stay!"_ Ash sensibly ignored Pikachu's indignant rant as he picked up his partner, got up off of the ground and ran towards the only entrance to the room, a set of doors with steps leading up to them. _"And that Malamar can shove it up his ass if he thinks we're going to let him make us zombies!"_ Just as the boy was about to pull the handle, the doors flung open, revealing Madame X and Malamar behind them. _"Well, fuck."_

" _You were saying?"_ Malamar followed their victims as they backed away from them, not noticing the Team Rocket members coming up from behind. Jessie, with rubber gloves on, grabbed Pikachu whilst James held Ash's arms in an iron grasp, not even letting go as the trainer struggled and began to kick him.

"Malamar, if you will." The psychic type's stomach began to glow, sending drowsy waves of power to the captives. After staring into the light for a few seconds, their movements slowed down to a creeping stop. Their eyes began to glaze over and, soon enough, they were limp in the Rocket members' grasp. Madame X commanded her minions to let her new trophies go, and they did so without hesitation.

" _For you, my mistress…"_ Malamar bowed slightly, raising his head as Madame X passed him with an evil grin on his face. The woman stroked her new pet's head with a smile, proud that her work – her plans – were succeeding.

"Thank you," she replied to her faithful Pokémon. "A rare jewel indeed. The two of you would look beautiful perched up high with me, I've always wanted a Sensor… so rare and so precious…" Madame X began laughing, Malamar joining in along with her. Nothing could stop their plan now.

~0~o~0~

Alain was pissed off, really pissed off, so pissed off in fact that no one but Leia would go anywhere near him. As soon as they had revived the hatchling, she had begun crying for her missing meema. Leia had never been away from Ash before and it was showing. Since she had seen him second, she had taken to crying in Alain's hold as both himself and Mairin searched for any sign of Ash and Pikachu.

Both trainers had been angry at themselves for letting that woman steal away their friends like that, they were angry at themselves for letting go because they had been hit by two measly Pokémon attacks. It hurt them to think about what was happening to the two at that very moment. The most obvious thing was being hypnotised by the Malamar but they hoped that they had managed to escape before it came to that. It would be horrible seeing Ash and Pikachu like those two Team Rocket members were.

They continued moving with Leia having finally stopped crying for a moment, only to stop walking when the sound of talking entered their line of hearing.

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Positive! If we're gonna stop dat evil lady and her Malamar, we're gonna hafta stick together, 'kay twerps?"

"I dunno… I don't trust that Meowth, Calem."

"Me neither! He's a part of Team Rocket!"

"Bonnie, calm down. Yelling isn't going to get Dedenne back any faster."

"But that evil lady took MY Dedenne! She's probably hypnotised already! We have to save her!"

As they turned a corner at a natural crossroads, they came face to face with – for Mairin anyway – a familiar group of trainers and a certain Pokémon that belonged to the group of Rocket members currently under Madame X's control.

"It's you!" The girl Mairin remembered to be called Bonnie spoke first, evading Mairin's personal space. "You're that girl from Lumiose!"

"That's me…" Mairin chuckled nervously, rubbing her hair through her large hat.

"Hey, where's your friend?" Bonnie continued, looking around for the boy in blue with the red hat and a Pikachu. "I thought the Budew was his."

" _Meema!"_ Leia burst into tears once again at the mention of her surrogate parent. _"I swear I will beat that mean lady and her Malamar for taking him!"_

"Wait, hold up…" Meowth stared at the Budew in Alain's arms with a shocked expression. "Malamar got da twerp too?!"

"What's going on?" Serena asked, totally confused as to the events that were transpiring in front of her. Alain took two of his fingers, placed them in his mouth and whistled, loud and clear making everyone look at him. "That's better. Now, let's get everything straight before anything else. So, you four plus Meowth, what happened to you?"

"We found Meowth under a tree," Clemont, the one member that both Alain and Mairin had met before, explained carefully. "We managed to revive him and he told us about this Madame X lady and her Malamar who had controlled Jessie and James with Hypnosis. We were about to head off when the Malamar appeared and used Psychic on my sister's Dedenne, taking it away… so, that's our story." He pushed up his glasses as his friends leaned in. "And yours?"

"Not too different except instead of meeting Meowth we were jumped on by his Rocket friends, Madame X and Malamar!" Mairin butted in first, speaking before Alain could get a word in edgeways. "They attacked us and made off with Ash and Pikachu!"

"But why?" Calem tilted his head slightly, hands placed on his hips in an emotionless gesture.

"Are you an idiot or what?!" Meowth jumped up to scratch the boy on the face, something both Mairin and Alain hid a smirk from. "Da twerp is an Auditory Sensor, one in 7,000 and not all of those 7,000 can understand da Pokémon Language! It's probably cause I got out and we were talking bout him and dat Pikachu of his when Madame X attacked. Plus, Pikachu is a powerhouse!"

"Not to mention the biggest swearer this side of Orre," Alain added, remembering how often their friend would reprehend his starter for gobbing off. "Look, you guys want to rescue her Dedenne, Meowth wants his teammates back and we want to save our two friends. I think it would be easier if we go together and at no point, EVER, split up."

"Not even…"

"NEVER!" The roaring yell made everyone freeze in their tracks, especially the idiot – Calem – who had started to suggest going down the horror movie trope line. "If you want to be hypnotised then so be it but, all those who want to rescue their partners/fellow Rocketeers/trainer and starter should listen or else." It was at this point that Charizard had appeared from the north, pointing and exclaiming something which Meowth instantly translated.

"He's saying dat the mad lady went inta a facility just up ahead." The normal type looked up at the trainers who were all grinning at each other like madmen themselves.

"Great, lets storm the place and wreck it until we get our friends back."

~0~o~0~

The facility was run down, dusty and filled with cobwebs with long corridors that went on for long stretches. As per Alain's words, they didn't split apart and rightly so as min controlled Pokémon awaited them at every turn. Those Pokémon ranged from first evolutions that were common to the area such as Houndour, Eevee and Hawlucha – even though that didn't have a second evolution – to Noivern, Exploud and Gogoat. How Madame X had found these Pokémon were unknown to the group but all of them were grateful for Alain's team who were all strong enough to take them on. However, neither Malamar nor Madame X had shown up yet which was worrying within itself, an ambush was eminent and the trainers were ready for it… sort of.

They entered a large space with high windows and a mechanical tower that acted like a throne, meaning they were in the heart of the lair of the crazy abductress who had taken their friends from them. Apart from the slight light, the entire room was dark and they couldn't see half a metre in front of them that was, until the lights came up with a familiar cackle.

"I thought you'd come after me," Madame X tilted her head whilst smirking atop her throne with both hypnotised electric types taking residence on her shoulder and lap. Jessie and James appeared at the only exit with Inkay and Pumpkaboo alongside. "After all, sacrificial Mareep always follow their masters to their untimely doom."

"Why are you doing this?!" Calem yelled at her with fury, his hands shaking in their clenched hold.

"Give me back Dedenne!" Bonnie added, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she couldn't help her partner.

"Mal mala Malamar mar marla ma!" The psychic type appeared next to its mistress, staring down at the humans and their Pokémon – plus Meowth – over the top of its beak.

"What did it say Meowth?" Serena inquired but, before the normal type Team Rocket member could reply, another monotone voice answered for them.

"Silly humans, demanding won't work on the great Malamar…" Alain and Mairin gasped as their friend stepped forwards out of the remaining dark areas, Leia aghast at her meema's unusual emotionlessness. The glazed eyes told them all they needed to know.

"Now then, what should I do with you? Oh yes!" Madame X gloated over the two's despair in her usual manner of literally smirking at their deflated selves. "Malamar, use Hypnosis, we need them all for our plans."

" _Yes, Madame X!"_ He floated forwards, the markings on his belly glowing until Leia began growling angrily, the sunlight hitting her tiny body, powering her up in ways that only the sun could to grass types. She pushed herself out of Alain's hold and shouted at the taller, more imposing opponent.

" _Stop it! Stop it now! Leave my meema alone you big meanie!"_ She tried to draw her height up to prove her point that she would rough him up if she needed to. No one dared to mess with a hatchling's meema, especially when anger was one of the key boosters in power that helped evolution.

" _What are you going to do, little twerp?!"_ Malamar burst into rounds of hideous cackles that only a few could understand and those who could react to it flinched. _"Go crying to said meema? He's under MY control and will remain a nice trophy for any world leader."_

" _Don't you DARE talk about meema that way! I… I WILL BEAT YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO, FOR MEEMA!"_ It had been a bit of a while coming but with the help of the sunlight, Leia was bathed in the glow of evolution. Arms with flowers – black and purple – sprouted from her sides and a head with spikes melded itself from the circular body the Budew, now a Roselia, once had. Leia, in all her evolved glory, had a much fiercer glare and added power to boost such a glare. She pushed her arms forwards and a barrage of Pin Missiles flew at Malamar's stomach, causing it to flop to the ground with the glow dissipating.

All victims of the Hypnosis attack screamed in pain, clutching their heads as they collapsed to the ground. Pikachu and Dedenne tumbled harmlessly to the floor, with Bonnie and Clemont catching them before they landed. Meowth rushed over to his fellow Rocketeers whilst Alain, Mairin and Leia made a beeline for Ash. As the boy was pushing himself up, his eyes – now their normal bright amber – latched onto his grass type with pride brimming in them.

"Leia…" He grabbed her into a close hug, grin beaming like the sun itself had on his hatchling. "I'm so proud of you. Thank you for saving us."

" _Meema…"_ She hugged him harder than ever, now that she had arms, whilst bursting into tears of joy. _"I was so worried about you! I missed you so much! Meema!"_

"It's okay, Leia. I'm fine now, and so is everyone else." By now, Pikachu had sworn at Clemont to let him down so he could make his way over to his posse. He looked Leia up and down, grinning.

" _Way to go short stuff, I knew you had it in ya…"_ Pikachu turned to the downed figure of Madame X, snarling loudly. The woman had toppled from her chair up high after Malamar had fallen foul to Leia's Pin Missile screeching as loudly as the rest of the victims. _"Alright bitch, you have three seconds to explain your… whoa, I did not see that coming"_ As he spoke, the woman had stood up, cloak falling off of her shoulders to the ground revealing her true identity as one of the Jenny family, an officer of the law. Obviously, no one else had expected it either.

"Officer, what's going on?" Alain was trying to keep a calm head whilst helping Ash up to his feet. Jessie and James had jumped up into the air after Meowth had clawed their faces which, in turn, allowed Inkay and Pumpkaboo to rise from their downed positions with Bonnie cradling her sleeping Dedenne.

"I… I don't know…" Officer Jenny rubbed her head as she tried to remember. "I, I think I was called to investigate a disturbance at this site and then I saw a bright light and…" Her attention rested on Malamar. "YOU! You hypnotised me!"

"Wait, does that mean the true mastermind behind all of this was Malamar?!" Mairin nearly screamed at the realisation out of the shock of it. "How can that be?! Pokémon aren't evil."

"Some are, depending on their trainers," Calem's eyes landed on Team Rocket as he spoke. "Or try to be evil and fail miserably."

"HEY!" The trio growled at him with fury evident on their faces. "We are evil, twerp!"

"Whatever, tell yourselves that." Bonnie rolled her eyes before snuggling her Pokémon again, glad to have Dedenne back, safe and sound.

Malamar was using this chance to escape, heading back towards the entrance as the group realised this and chased after him. They made it back outside, causing Malamar to turn around and speak for a bit. It glared down at those who could understand it before disappearing into the air just as Ash and Meowth yelled to get down with the institute blowing up behind them moments later. The wild Pokémon Malamar had used helped form a cover for the group of humans and – thanks to a team effort – managed to survive the blast with no injuries whatso ever.

When the winds from it had died down, all parties turned to where Malamar had been. Not trusting Meowth, Alain turned to Ash for a translation for what had just transpired.

"He said, 'My boss will be pleased with my findings, the research lost to the confines of that building, humanity will fall to our superior might and soon the world will begin a new age of Malamar control. That I promise all of you today, a future you may not live to watch if you aren't careful. That bomb I placed should be going off right about… now." The fourteen-year-old looked up at his older friend with worry, clutching the newly evolved Leia tightly. "Do you seriously think that Pokémon is one of many trying to take over the Earth?"

"If what it had just done had anything to say about it," Alain looked up at the sunny sky that betrayed the tension of what had just transpired. "Then yeah, I seriously do think so."

* * *

 **Next time: A mirror, a new world and a personality shift.**


	12. A Mirror Passage

**I'm soooo sorry it's taken a month to write this, life hasn't been easy and neither has my plot bunny so yeah, went on hold for a bit but I'm back with chapter 12.**

 **There are a few things I'd like to go through first.**

 **1\. The whole thing with Serena, as I said earlier on, will be resolved during the Coumarine City section, we aren't even at Shalour.**

 **2\. No Charizard because Ash has a fire type (Fennekin) and I did say only one Mega per character and, as you guys know, Ash's Mega is Mawile. Last Pokemon, however, is in the dark until they're caught.**

 **3\. This story has already been completely planned out. All chapters, captures and events are planned so there can be no changes... and no Lucario. I definitely didn't want to go down that route from the start so yeah.**

 **Anyway, onto reviews.**

 **Little White Comet: I was trying to make things more creepy, Malamar is actually quite vital to future plot so look forwards to that. Yes, this is the mirror episode chapter, I hope you guys like mirror Pikachu!**

 **Dragonic Warlord The Ace: It's to do with the mirror world and yeah, I'm glad Leia evolved too.**

 **modeststroke: Aww thanks! The whole purpose of this story was to develop the characters of Alain and Mairin on a more personal level than what we were given as I liked them better than the canon travel companions sometimes. Mairin has one capture left for this story, but she's gonna have a few evolutions in the future, don't you worry!**

 **thor94: Leia needed to grow out of her baby stage anyway.**

 **mewmaster89: Not for a while yet buddy, not until Coumarine**

 **InfernalFox: Did it? That's better than what I hoped for!**

 **MellieCrescent: Me neither, but Malamar is relevant to the plot so, had to include it somehow. I know right? Sensor's have it so bad, but the good parts outweigh the negatives in all honesty. I'm glad you like our little Mairin.**

 **Raze Olympus: Be patient, it's coming.**

 **Dragonsrule18: Thank you, I proud of Leia the badass little Roselia.**

 **Floreal: Well, the next chapter's here!**

 **raincoloredpetals: I know, right? No, Leia won't go into her ball until she's a Roserade. She's sticking around for the longhall. Yeah, wait until the end of the series, he's gonna be super pissed off then, and not even Leia can go near him. ;)**

 **Satoshi-Greninja: I didn't disappoint you? I am shocked I have met your expectations.**

 **catherinecadwell: Aww thank you, I dunno if people would have liked this instead of XY/XYZ but I'm glad people here like it. Yes, I do have everything planned but no more megas for Ash, he will get a dragon type though. Also, read earlier chapters, Ash-Greninja is a thing.**

 **Once again to all of you, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **A Mirror Passage**

"We need to tell her Alain, I can't continue on like this without her knowing."

Mairin woke up suddenly from she perceived to be some kind of secret talk between the older members of their group. Since she was ten, Alain was dead set on her getting ten hours of sleep minimum meaning that if the group had a seven o'clock start she'd have to go to sleep at nine. Ash, being four years older and experienced with outdoor camping from past travels, could stay up for a little while longer but even so, they were talking pretty loudly – specially to stir her from sleep due to her status as a heavy sleeper – and were probably talking about her.

"Right, she needs to know as much as we did back then when we were her age." Alain was agreeing, so whatever it was they were talking about was going to be shared with her and not kept away like her parents did when they had their secret chats she would listen into if they were close enough. She sat up in her sleeping bag – they weren't in tents as it was a trepid, clear night and the stars were always beautiful things to stare at before falling asleep – and rubbed her eyes before making it perfectly clear she could hear them.

"What do I…" She yawned loudly, interrupting her sentence as the boy's heads whirled around at the sound of her voice. "Need to know?" She watched as the younger of the two nodded to the older and they turned their heads to face her once again.

"Mairin," Ash took a deep breath of anticipation, holding a sleeping Leia in his arms. "We need to talk about what happened today, with the Malamar incident." Mairin pulled herself out of her sleeping bag and walked over to the large logs that were positioned around the campfire so that the raging fire inside could keep those on the outside warm. Taking a seat between the two, she noticed their stern expressions and almost shivered. They were deadly serious, neither showing the hint of a smile which one of them usually did.

"Okay, what's up?" She asked innocently.

"Basically, it's what you said," Alain acknowledged her confused gaze with a sigh. "You still believe that all Pokémon are good, right?"

"Yeah…"

"They're not." Both Alain and Mairin stared – with slight shock on Alain's part because he was going to go first – at Ash's stern and immediate response. "Pokémon are more like us than we think. They're sentient beings that can choose for themselves even though many work under trainer commands. Why would Froakie abandon so many trainers if he wasn't? Pokémon can be just as evil as humans, if not worse."

"How can they be worse?" Nobody wanted to ask but the youngest member took it upon herself to bring forwards the question made by the ambiguous ending.

"What is the one thing, other than shape or features, that differs between humans and Pokémon…" Pikachu went to open his mouth sarcastically only to be shot an angered glare by his own trainer. "And no, it's not language."

"Their control over the 18 types and moves, basically elemental powers," The eldest decided, once again, to impart his vast lake of knowledge onto his younger companions. "Sure, there are some human psychics and fighting element wielders known as aura users but that's due to us evolving from lines like Alakazam and Machamp. Only Pokémon can use attacks and fight in battles."

"Exactly," Ash tensed slightly, tightening his hold on Leia who remained blissfully asleep. "They can burn through stone, destroy buildings with pressurised water and can cut mountains in half with leaves… and those are only the starter types. Now see what the problem is? If one of those powerhouses turned out to be mean or evil, you can imagine how worried parents would be about their kid's safety with the idea that they could die at any moment from an evil creature with total power?"

"Trainers wouldn't exist…" Mairin said the first thing that came into her mind. "…Right?"

"No, which is why Pokémon professors state otherwise to stop the Pokémon industry, which is worth over 50% of the world's industrial finance, from heading into a recession from a lack of training." Alain took over with the explanation, adding all of the technical facts that he knew. "Anyone with half a brain would know that sentient creatures could easily be evil but that would ruin the world's economy."

"Really?" Mairin wanted to kick herself for being so stupid. "I… I had no idea… not after what my parents told me…"

"It's alright, its why some trainers prefer to travel together," Ash trailed off, looking down at the ground. "Pokémon, either misguided or evil, won't think above killing and they have done for years. The news and services blame it all on a fake human to 'jail' in the place of the Pokémon for parent relief. Far fewer trainers came across evil Pokémon in the past then nowadays. It's just life, and sometimes… it can be taken away so evilly." Nobody said anything after that, the fire's crackling being the only sound to enter their ears before Ash stood up un-expectantly. "I'm going to bed, night." His words were never answered as Mairin followed him silently, leaving Alain to stare at the fire in front of him.

~0~o~0~

The morning had been majorly silent considering the aspects of life touched on that night, especially the hidden clues left by the Kantonese trainer who seemed to have been on the opposite end of some of those life-destroying moves but no one dared to bring it up. In fact, no one talked – even Pikachu and that's when one could deduce that something was up - until they had entered the Glistening Cave.

"Wow, they look just like mirrors!" Mairin grinned as she stared at one, before posing like a model with her lips pouted and eyelashes fluttering. "How do I look?"

" _Horrible,"_ Pikachu deadpanned as Alain burst out laughing behind him at her actions. _"You're trying too hard with that Psyduck pout and your whole form is off."_

"Apparently, my Pikachu is a model expert…" Ash rolled his eyes at his starter, just glad he could lift his spirits after last night's serious talk. "Don't worry Mairin, you look fine. I never saw you as one who cared so much about your appearance."

"I'm just messing around!" She grinned, rushing towards Alain before grabbing his arm and running onwards. "Come on, there has to be something interesting here!"

"Mairin, wait!" Ash, Pikachu and Leia watched as they vanished from sight, blinking slowly to process what had just happened.

" _Is Aunty Mairin nuts, meema?"_ Leia inquired innocently, still looking in the direction of which they had vanished off into.

" _Peanut, cashew… whatever you'd like she's got it in her brain!"_ Pikachu sounded like one of those old announcers for the fairground, persuading someone to buy said nuts. _"I swear if it wasn't attached already, she'd forget her head each and every morning she wakes up."_

"Mairin's not that bad, she's still ten remember? She's still younger than us and has plenty of energy," the human rolled his eyes once again, unable to help himself. "Do I need to remind you of how bad I was when I was her age… wow, that makes me sound old."

" _Nah, I'm good!"_ Pikachu nervously laughed, remembering how awful Ash was at ten and was glad the teenaged forces of Brock and Misty had helped him to mellow out greatly by his eleventh birthday in Johto. _"Whilst the sass was good, your attitude stank."_

"I'm so glad I'm over that stage," Ash knew that if he had maintained that attitude until now, he wouldn't be where he was now as a trainer. "But you never changed, your attitude still stinks and your language hasn't improved either."

" _At least I admit that I have my faults!"_ The electric rodent scoffed, turning his head away from the teenager with an almighty huff.

"He doesn't," Ash muttered to Leia, who began laughing which was furthered heavily by the Psyduck pout Pikachu was now supporting. A scream from up ahead made all three of them freeze in fear as they all knew who that voice belonged to. They rushed hurriedly in the direction their friends disappeared to, only to find a tear stricken Mairin staring intently at one of the many mirror like surfaces in front of her. "Mairin! Are you okay?! Where's Alain?"

"In there…" Shakily, she rose a finger and pointed to the mirror itself. "He's in there!"

~0~o~0~

Never before had Alain opened his eyes to a green sky, red yes; orange yes, purple yes but never once had green graced his vision. Sitting up, he realised he was alone and wondered how he had ended up in this position… oh yes. Mairin had dragged him away to check out the other mirrors in the cave and, whilst leaning against one, it seemed as if he had fallen through into another world as the mirror absorbed him. Since Mairin was there when he was dragged in, there was no way she'd be around but the two of them – stupidly – had left Ash behind further in the cave. He didn't know about the absorbing mirrors.

Immediately, the trainer stood up and looked around for any sign of another person in the vicinity. There wasn't, which made him on edge. If he truly was alone, then anything could happen and he didn't like the idea of that. After taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, Alain walked in search of some kind of human settlement to find someone who could help him get back to his own world. He had heard the rumours that each mirror represented another world in which things were different from the one that the opposite mirror held but he really didn't want to test that theory.

For a while, he was just making his way down the dirt trodden path in silence, Pokémon watched him from the trees already able to tell this human was not from this place. Alain realised almost instantly that certain details were different, such as leaf colour – if a green sky wasn't enough, this world had blue leaves – and noted that he hated it already and wanted back with his normal blue skies – or grey if clouds had anything to say about it – and green/brown leaves. He was about to give up with this place and yell when the sound of soft sobs reached his ears from nearby. Being human, his first instinct was to find the sound's origin and console whomever was making such a noise. As he went closer, however, he realised that the sobbing came with a conversation, a conversation he could help but hide to overhear.

" _Old bean, honestly, that no good animal has no right to speak to you in such a manner."_

"I don't know… I am useless…"

" _Of course you are not! I say, if that ruffian uses one more deprecating demeanour at you again one will use one's strongest move to smite her."_

"But… Pikachu…"

" _No, Ashton, I do not believe that woman has neither right nor state of mind to, pardon my Kalosian, slag you off for a minor mistake."_

Alain knew those voices in his sleep, even if they sounded slightly different. Pikachu wasn't yelling as much and Ash was a lot quieter than normal but it was them, as far as he knew of. He went to go closer when another familiar voice made him stop.

"Still mopin' are ya? Trust da weakling." That was Mairin… but not at the same time, she sounded rougher at the edges with an accent she didn't normally have. And her words… they weren't what Alain would imagine exiting her mouth. Mairin looked up to Ash as a sister would an older brother, and Ash wasn't weak. He'd just recently taken down Grant, the Cyllage City Gym Leader with an amazing strategy wining two to none. How did that match with him being a weakling? Answer, it didn't. He was about to give Mairin a piece of his mind when another person spoke up and he froze at the sound of it.

"Cut him some slack, Mairin. Just because you find Gym Battles and Mega Evolution easy doesn't mean everyone will." That person was somehow… him. There were two Alain's here. Now the universe will implode happily, not that Alain was going to let it. He turned to leave, stilling as he stood on a branch that broke in two with a quite snap. Hopefully, this version of Ash wouldn't be…

"What was that?!"

… An Auditory Sensor. Oh well, at least it was worth a shot at trying to hope. No wonder Pikachu's chosen name for him was Edgelord if he was this quick to give up on any type of positivity. He remained quiet and still as the conversation between the mirror version of himself and his companions continued.

"Probably nothin'," Mirror Mairin seemingly scoffed and the foreigner to this world could imagine her rolling her eyes as well. "Jeez, you overreact to everythin'! I can't believe you even made it here with dat attitude."

"No, I heard it too," Mirror Alain – adding the word of the object that brought him to this hellish place was deemed a distinguishable way to separate himself from the group that represented his own – spoke with a kinder tone, turning towards the trees. "We know you're out there, whoever you are. Please come out, we won't hurt you…"

"Yeah right," Mirror Mairin scoffed again. "They're probably some kinda serial murderer or somethin', goin' to bump off scaredy Meowth over there."

" _I dare you to say one more word about my partner, you hillbilly ruffian, I dare you…"_ Mirror Pikachu, even though he couldn't understand what the Pokémon was saying, seemed more refined with a posher tone – if Pokémon could even have posh tones, he had to ask his world's Ash about that when he got back – and was openly defending his trainer. If Ash messed up back home, Pikachu would laugh at him and then give some form of support after the upset had continued… at least that's what both Ash and Pikachu combined had told them. _"Anyway, I would be deeply loathe to break up our little four way tete-a-tete but there is another Alain in the shrubbery overhearing us."_

"Another Alain?!" Oh boy was he in trouble.

It turned out Alain was right in his assumptions, even the group looked different. His mirror version was constantly smiling and didn't have his bellowing scarf around his neck, which looked weird in many ways. Mirror Mairin's clothing was scruffy and her hat was knocked askew, not that she cared anyway. At first, she seemed interested in the stronger male, but returned to taunting an obviously timider Mirror Ash, who was hiding behind Mirror Alain as they walked back towards the caves. Mirror Pikachu, however, looked adorable. Why? He was wearing a red bowtie.

Everything looks more adorable with a bowtie, it has been scientifically proven.

When the electric type spoke, his shy trainer would instantly translate before hiding back away from the stranger to their world, occasionally the alternate version of Ash would gain the courage to look at the sterner Alain only to yelp and hide when their eyes met. It was unusual to say the least, what was even more unusual was what followed.

"You fell through a mirror huh," Mirror Alain spoke thoughtfully but still with a jovial tone. "Sure there are mirrors up ahead in the Glistening Cave but never have I heard of any of them being portals to other universes or worlds."

"Of course dey are!" Mirror Mairin smirked, crossing her arms whilst turning her head stiffly away from the remaining three males. "Itsa well known legend 'round these parts. Dey say weird monsters burst from da mirrors to gobble travellers up whole!" She laughed loudly as Mirror Ash squealed and hid further behind Alain's mirror counterpart, which the two oldest males didn't take too kindly to. Mirror Alain stared at her with disappointment whilst Alain gave her his most furious glare he could muster. It was safe to say she didn't care either way.

" _So if our posse can find a mirror that includes the portal to our new acquaintance's world, then we can safely relieve him of his position in this place to allow him back to his world's equivalent of us."_ Mirror Pikachu stated following the girl's eviler interjection, his words being instantly translating by the hiding fourteen-year-old who trained him.

"Well then, let's head there now!" The mirror version grabbed his grouchier counterpart's wrist and ran off with him, leaving the other three to giggle/laugh at what was said by the poor soul forced into running with a nicer lunatic.

"Don't I have a say in this?!"

~0~o~0~

"Still nothing?" Ash asked Mairin, who had been staring at the mirror Alain had disappeared into since her fellow trainer had arrived on the scene. Leia had taken the opportunity to comfort 'Auntie' Mairin by giving her a hug and was now sitting nicely in the ten-year-old's lap, taking note that meema was nearby if needed.

"No," she sighed and continued to stare. "He's not shown any sign of returning…" Her body began to shake at the thought of losing Alain all because of her own stupid actions. "What if… what if he's trapped in there and can never come back?! It… it would be all my fault that he's gone!"

"Mairin…"

"I dragged him here and now he's paying for my actions!"

"Mairin."

"It's all my fault!"

"Mairin!" The sudden shout made her look up, vision blurred by the tears obscuring her sight. She felt herself being pulled into a hug, her chin resting on the older trainer's shoulder as he soothingly rubbed her arm. "Listen to me, you had no idea this would happen. You can't blame yourself for it."

"But Alain…" Her words were cut off, stuck in her throat.

"Alain can take care of himself, and I'm sure if anyone can find a way back through to home, it's him." Ash smiled softly to himself, knowing inside that everything was going to be alright. "So don't worry, okay? He'll be back before you know it." Their hug continued until Mairin's tears dried and she pulled them apart, smiling back at the friend who comforted her.

" _So, this means no ditching Edgelord in the mirror world?"_ Dammit Pikachu.

~0~o~0~

"So, which one did you come through?"

"The one with the big sign that says 'Missing Counterpart Goes Here'." Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. Alain wanted out of there immediately, this world's version of him was annoying, the version of Mairin was evil and the only version he may have been able to have a conversation with was terrified to death of speaking to him. Plus, since he wasn't an Auditory Sensor, Alain couldn't understand Mirror Pikachu without translation meaning the two of them couldn't have an eventful conversation. In all honestly, he liked this version of Pikachu better than the one back home.

"Oh my god," Mirror Mairin was laughing again, clutching her stomach as if she was in pain from all the laughter. "Witty and sarcastic, why can't we keep this one instead?!"  
"Because I prefer my Mairin better," Alain gave her an unamused glare. "She's a lot nicer than you are." That shut her up for a while, even causing the mirror world version of Ash to giggle from his hiding spot. He broke away from the annoyance following him, walking past every mirror surface until one reacted to him. For a moment, he could swear he saw rippling and the crying face of Mairin in the mirror's reflection, making him believe this was the one to allow him back home.

" _Found it? Spiffing!"_ The foreigner jumped at Pikachu's sudden intrusion on his shoulder. _"Now you may enter with newfound hope to be reunited with your friends! Absolutely spiffing, old bean!"_

"Huh?" A translation revealed everything then, to which Alain rubbed the mirror rodent's fur. "Thank you, oh and tell your trainer, no matter what don't listen to Mairin. He's strong in his own way and is lucky to have a partner like you." He turned back to face the group, noticing that the shy boy had poked his head out from behind the kinder version of himself and actually smiled back. Mirror Pikachu jumped off and back to his trainer as Alain placed his hand on the mirror, not expecting it to phase through and for everything to turn dark as three voices granted him the passage of farewell.

"Wake up!"

"Come on… Alain!"

" _Edgelord, if you can hear me but not understand me, say 'fuck'."_

"PIKACHU! That's just inappropriate!"

" _ASH! But I wanna say it!"_

Alain's eyes opened to his friend's blurred faces above him, chuckling inside at the powerful glare the two humans plus Leia were giving to the electric rodent.

"You okay?" Ash held out a hand to help him sit up, which Alain excepted gratefully as the rest watched him wearily.

"Yeah, even though I was in some other world where the sky was green and you were timid…" He then pointed to Mairin. "And you were a roughneck whilst Pikachu was the perfect gentleman," Alain began rubbing his head. "And I was completely weird." Everyone around him was silent for a while before one certain, yellow furred Pokémon decided to end it.

" _It's official, you're fucked up in the head."_ With the usual shout of 'Pikachu!' from Ash, Alain was sure he was back in his own world. Pikachu must have sworn and, according to Mirror Ash, his Pikachu was a right honourable member of society. His Ash's Pikachu would have pissed on society if the rodent could have literally. _"What? This asshole made you worry like shit and all you can say is 'you okay?! Bloody hell, Ash."_

"THAT'S IT! COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Pikachu had run off as soon as Ash had begun yelling, laughing even more so when the trainer let out the swear word in his anger as the chase begun. Leia ran after her meema, giggling also as the three vanished deeper into the caves.

"Shouldn't we follow them?" Mairin asked, noting that Alain wasn't doing anything. "We know how bad Ash's sense of direction is."

"I'm glad to be back home," he stood up after muttering under his breath. Turning to Mairin, he ruffled her hair under her hat and smiled. "You're right. Don't want Ash to vanish like I did." The two were on the move after their friends, who were luckily heading in the same direction of the exit, not that a certain furious trainer knew that.

* * *

 **Next time: A dream, a goal and a evolution**


	13. Burning Ambitions

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the month later update... my muse decided to leave me again... dammit.**

 **Anyway, I'm back and here is chapter 13 for you lucky lot. Next time is a super long chapter, why you may ask? Well, we are entering the Bond's world version of the seventeenth Pokemon Movie. That's right, Diancie's up next! Then Korrina's Gym Battle, then the ME specials 2 and 3... man have I got a jam packed few chapters up ahead.**

 **Before I answer the reviews, there's something I'd like to say, and that's... once again... thank you. I am overwhelmed by the support you guys have given me with this project and I swear I will finish it all for each and every one of you who is reading this. IB has become an achieving child with me the proud parent (Weird metaphor, I know but hey, it's true.) so I just want to, yet again, thank you guys for making this happen. (I have to stop saying thank you, Damn being British!)**

 **Finally: Review time!**

 **Satoshi-Greninja: Yeah, I like the idea of Ash and Mairin being like a brother and sister, which is what I'm aiming for. The three of them are like family to each other.**

 **Dragonic Warlord The Ace: I would have added a tophat to Mirror Pikachu as well - what is a gentleman without his tophat - but I chose just the bowtie because it would have been too expensive for Mirror Ash to keep paying for them when Mirror Pikachu destroys them through his attacks.**

 **thor94: He wasn't there since he was in the actual anime, I wanted a different perspective since Mirror Ash and IB Mirror Ash are basically the same just one is and Auditory Sensor and the other isn't.**

 **Luktopius: That was the plan!**

 **MellieCrescent: Yeah, some things never change, right? ;)**

 **InternalFox: Froakie Evolved in Chapter 8. You know what they say, once an Edgelord, always and Edgelord. Plus almost every version of Ash must have a bad sense of direction, it helps with the plot sometimes (And comedic effect).**

 **ElectricalCookie: Aww, thank you! I have always had the idea Pikachu wasn't as sweet and innocent as he seemed in the anime and I'm glad you feel he's making a greater contribution to the story than he did in the anime.**

 **Floreal: Thanks a lot, I liked writing them too.**

 **JirachiAtSundown: It took a month to write, how is that fast?**

 **Guest 1: Thank you, I hope you like this one.**

 **Guest 2: See above and thanks.**

 **raincoloredpetals: He's yours, for the low low payment of your soul. Or just catch a Pikachu, buy a bowtie and viola! We have a Pikachu in a bowtie! Alain is slowly getting used to them, and for the better too! Edgelord's bonding exercise is bringing him out of his shell.**

 **Guest 3: Sorry for the wait, writer's blocks exists.**

 **Sai Og Sus: Oh boy, where to begin. The thing is, the commander-stereotype isn't Mawile's personality. It's her created persona made so she could lead the Glistening Cave group to efficiency. It's inconsistent since Mawile is slowly becoming herself and allowing herself to be who she really is (See the chapter for more.) Also, what do you mean by high school girl? Because Tyrunt bit on her jaw hair? Think about it, the jaw hair is literally a part of Mawile's body so it must have really hurt her, which was why she got so angry. Imaging something chomping down on your mouth and then apply it to her attacking appendage. It is quite painful. Spelling errors? I checked through and no, the cookie was for movie references. Yes, Grant was hiding his true skill and no, Calem has not seen or knows of the Kanji on his handkerchief since he'd only just got it back from Serena so blame her then. He's not the type of guy to do such a thing.**

 **Phantomdream: Thanks, the Sensor idea was a last minute thing to give Ash the ability to understand Pokemon and not go down the Aura/Psychic lines. I made him competent but with emotion, like what I was expecting from XY/XYZ but wasn't shown so much. If he wants to be a Master then he's gonna have to retain his knowledge, am I right or am I left?**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Burning Ambitions**

" _ **Run! Get away from here!"**_

 _ **Burning, flashes of light, pain.**_

" _ **Meema, I'm scared!"**_

 _ **Mangled bodies, children crying, screaming.**_

" _ **Hurry, it's gaining on us!"**_

 _ **Roaring, a beam of purple, heading straight for her.**_

" _ **NOOOO!"**_

Fennekin screamed as she woke up, curled in with her back resting against her trainer's underarm. It was just a dream, a horrible nightmare that haunted her to this day. Carefully, she sat up whilst trying not to stir anyone in the pile of sleep. Leia was snuggling against her meema's chest whilst Pikachu was kicking Ash in the face from sleeping at one side. Mawile had proclaimed the legs for her sleeping department whilst Frogadier was leaning against a tree nearby. She briefly smiled at the sight, grateful that she had found a trainer who would do such a thing – and Pokémon who were comfortable enough to use a human as a giant cushion – to show appreciation towards his team for a hard day's worth of training.

Due to the fact Alain had revealed that Shalour City was not too far away from the exit to the reflection cave, Ash had taken the time to train his team members up, with all of them adding support for Leia who was one of the planned roster for the match. It would be her first in what may be many Gym battles, but she seemed to be doing rather well, presumably because she wanted to please her meema. Frogadier had recently learnt Aerial Ace meaning he had also acquired the space on the Gym team, with his stealth skills being rather useful against power heavy fighting types. The last slot, however, was still open.

Fennekin felt a bit left behind compared to the rest of her teammates, still having not evolved yet when Frogadier and, even baby Leia, had already reached their second stages. Pikachu refused to evolve and would start a loud succession of la's when the words 'thunder' and 'stone' were mentioned in the same sentence, whilst Mawile couldn't evolve even if she wanted to however Alain had confirmed that Mawile was on the list of Pokémon that could Mega Evolve so at least she had that ahead for her in the future. She felt guilty for not evolving yet, for letting Ash down by not progressing like the others had. No matter how many times he told her she was fine as she was, Fennekin couldn't think so.

When she had first met Ash, she was weak and not even able to defend herself against a bunch of Beedrill, which were bug types that were supposed to drop like flies with her flames. She had to get human help to heal her wounds, she had to hide behind a human as his Pokémon defeated the hordes that chased them. Even now, she still felt the same no matter how stronger her training had made her. Getting up, she wandered off to a nearby tree stump and slouched on it, looking up to the sky with troubled look cast upon her facial features. She just wasn't strong enough like this, she wasn't good enough to be the best. Right now, she was useless.

" _If only I was stronger…"_

" _What do you mean by that?"_ Fennekin jumped up at another's voice, turning to see Mawile walking over to stand beside the tree trunk the fire type sat on. _"You really don't believe you're weak, do you?"_

" _Where's the whole private nonsense you normally sprout at us during training?"_ Fennekin replied by asking a question of her own. _"You have been slipping out of it lately but it's still there, albeit being inconsistent."_

Mawile didn't answer her but leant against the tree trunk with her arms folded. _"I guess I'm starting to realise I don't have to be a strong leader anymore, I have Ash for that now,"_ she scoffed at the thought in her mind. _"Those Pokémon in the cave had no one to defend them, to lead them to be stronger. At the time, I tried being myself with them and they just rejected me for it. Now, when I changed my tone and put on this commander persona, they listened and followed my instructions. A part of me still hasn't let go of that persona yet, but slowly… I'm getting there."_

" _Wait, you're not a female GI. Joe?"_ Fennekin blinked as Mawile laughed heartily at her serious question.

" _What the hell do you think? How could a Tall Grasser like myself learn to be a commander in an army? I was making it up as I was going along!"_ Mawile shook her head and sighed. _"You're one of the two people I've told the truth to and the other is our trainer… anyway, enough about me faking who I am, why are you doubting your strength?"_

Fennekin stared up at the moon for a while before lowering her head. _"You weren't there, you wouldn't understand."_

" _Try me."_

" _I lost my family, everyone in our group just because of some hungry ass Snorlax who thought that we'd make a great snack!"_ Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. _"My siblings were squished under its weight, meema and papa were eaten alive… and I wasn't strong enough to save them, I wasn't even strong enough to hold back a horde of Beedrill after stealing from then and I'm a fire type, they're bugs for Arceus' sake! I should be one hit knocking them out!"_

Mawile said nothing, waiting until Fennekin's tears had slowly resided to sniffles. _"I'm sorry for your loss, I really am."_

" _Thanks…"_

" _But you shouldn't think like that. A lot has changed since the Beedrill incident, I know you're not that weak anymore. You won a Gym Battle against a part water type, something most fire types never manage to accomplish in their lifetime as trainers switch out with more super effective type matchups."_ The part steel type sighed as she noted that Fennekin wasn't hearing her words. _"Listen, I know you want to evolve into a Braixen and I'm sure Ash has told you he'll be backing whatever you choose to do in the future, whether you evolve or not he won't care. After all, the poor boy has had to put up with Pikachu for four years."_ The two girls began laughing at that, agreeing they couldn't stand four years of being around Pikachu without a way to shut him up. At least they could use their attacks on him if he got too goby for their liking. _"Look, just talk about evolving to him tomorrow during training and he'll give you a special one on one session. Even if you don't evolve by day's end, you will feel stronger because of it."_

" _I'll do that, thanks Mawile, you really helped me feel better there."_ Fennekin looked down at Mawile, who gave her a toothy grin back.

" _No prob,"_ she replied. _"Anything to help a teammate."_

~0~o~0~

Fennekin waited behind as the others were given their specific instructions, running of to find a good place to train. As Mawile passed her, she received a nod with a reassuring grin to boot, telling the fire type that everything would be okay. She continued staring until a light touch to her back brought her back into reality.

"Is everything okay Fennekin?" The fire type looked up at her trainer, who was staring at her with worry. "You seem a bit out of it today."

" _I… urm…"_ She took a deep breath, remembering Mawile's words from the night before. _"I want to evolve into a Braixen as soon as possible and… well, I was wondering if you could help me with it!"_ A blush settled on her face due to the fact she had spoken that last part very quickly.

"Are you sure you want this?" Ash asked in a way that didn't make her question her decision. "Once you evolve there is no way to turn back."

" _Positive! I've been a Fennekin for years and I've learnt every move I can in this form,"_ she smiled with a familiar fire burning in her eyes. _"I want to evolve into a Braixen!"_

"In that case, I'll do everything I can to help you achieve your goal, okay?" The fourteen-year-old couldn't help but chuckle at his fire type's enthusiasm which included bouncing all over the place. "But first, you'll have to learn Psybeam. It's the move that a Fennekin needs to perfect before they can evolve into Braixen. It prepares your line for the psychic type inheritance further along the line."

" _I already know Hypnosis,"_ Fennekin added. _"Does that make learning Psybeam easier?"_

"It should do," Digging into his extensive Pokémon knowledge, Ash began thinking about ways to use Hypnosis to help with the teaching of Psybeam. "You already have a grasp on your psychic energy, which few Fennekin have unless they have psychic type egg moves. Hypnosis is sending waves of energy to send an opponent to sleep, Psybeam is concentrating it into a higher density attack that can send an opponent flying. All we need to work on is your concentration and then, you'll probably evolve."

" _I'm ready!"_

"I'm warning you now, you may not like it."

" _BRING IT ON!"_

Across the clearing, Mawile watched as Fennekin tried to form her psychic waves into a beam of power that could knock over a rock set upon the same tree stump she had sat on the night before. No matter how far the fire type was pushing herself, Ash would always force her to take breaks, warning her about overstepping her limits. Much like Fennekin must have during their conversation, she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest that night and, as such, her forced persona had finally decided to leave her alone. Leia didn't care too much about it, but Pikachu and Frogadier noticed that her language and sentence structure had changed. They would have asked her about it if it wasn't for the face they were afraid of her. Steel types weren't badly affected by electric types and dark types would always tremble to the power of fairies.

She grinned as the waves faltered into a more beam like shape, before falling out of line once more. The determination and hard work was paying off and, by evening, Mawile was sure she'd be sharing her dinner with a newly evolved Braixen. It had been Fennekin's dream to become a Delphox, a majestic fire beast that could decimate opponents with a combination of fire and psychic type moves, including some ghost and dark type moves as well. Ever since Froakie had evolved to protect Ash, Fennekin had been training harder to catch up with him. Sure, unlike Frogadier, she had never been in the hands of a trainer but she would try as hard as she could to succeed.

" _Okay, something's wrong with you,"_ Pikachu decided to be the one who confronted the unusually acting Mawile. _"So admit what's eating your brain and I won't have to fight dirty."_

" _You already do so with that mouth of yours,"_ she rolled her eyes at him, not at all frightened by the electric type's empty threats. _"I'm just glad I actually give a shit about someone other than myself."_

" _That's not true and you fucking know it!"_ Pikachu snarled, crossing his arms and pouting like a toddler.

" _Oh yeah, after I tell Ash you swore around Leia then he won't be happy."_ She laughed as she waved at the grass type, who had managed to learn Magical Leaf by herself and went to go and tell her meema about her progress.

" _You did too!"_ He yelled.

" _I whispered, she doesn't have twenty/twenty hearing like you and Ash do. That's against the point, your swearing is more consistent than mine is, meaning I really don't have to listen to you, do I?"_ Mawile continued watching as Leia jumped into their trainer's arms for a hug, blabbering away like crazy which lead to the other two laughing and applauding her for her achievements. _"If either of you two need me to kick your butts, I'll be helping Mairin's Pokémon. They need it more than you two lazybones."_ With that, she walked off laughing at their faces, not caring a bit she kinda just dissed two members of the team that had been around longer than she had.

As she made her way over to where Mairin was practising with Alain, she grinned at Espie, who was sitting on the side-lines.

" _Hello there,"_ The psychic cat greeted politely. _"_ _Bébé and Mura are having a mock battle. So far, they are both doing considerably well. What are your fellow comrades doing?"_

" _Ash is helping Fennekin to evolve, Leia's improving by leaps and bounds, Frogadier's lagging behind a bit after his evolution and Pikachu's the same prick as ever…"_ Mawile couldn't help but laugh at the sly, understanding grin on Espie's face. _"So basically the norm then. I'm just relaxing after that Gym Battle from earlier. I know I won't be used in the next one, I'm sure Leia and Fennekin will be in there, along with Frogadier."_

" _Do not think you will not be acquitted from the next fray for such a reason,"_ Espie replied knowledgably, turning her eyes back to the mini training battle in front of them. _"Your trainer is quite… unpredictable."_

" _Yeah, I know…"_ The fairy and steel type smiled, looking up into the sky at the fluffy clouds that were floating lazily by. _"And I think I can say on the behalf of everyone that we all love him for it."_

~0~o~0~

"Alright, try once more, Psybeam!" Fennekin followed the order, putting her full concentration in producing a beam of psychic power. This attempt had brought forwards a wonky beam, which had knocked the rock target off of the stump, causing the fire type to cheer in celebration. She had just learnt the move Psybeam, she could evolve into Braixen now! "Way to go, you've really tried hard today Fennekin." The sky was turning a blueish orange and the wafting scent of cooking food told them that dinner was being prepared. Fennekin jumped into her trainer's arms, enjoying the hug whilst at the same time frowning due to the fact she hadn't evolved yet. Maybe a battle would help her perfect the move, just one little tiny one before the food was prepared.

" _Umm, Ash?"_ She asked, continuing when he hummed to let her know he was listening. _"Is it okay if we test out the move in a battle?"_

"You really want to battle now?"

" _Yeah, just a friendly spar to make sure it's perfect!"_ Fennekin knew just who to ask to help her with this and, with her trainer's consent, called Mawile over. _"Is it okay if we battle? I've learnt Psybeam but I want to perfect it before dinner."_

" _No problem, I'd be happy to help."_ Mawile replied, smiling at the excited look on Fennekin's face. A smile she secretly shared with Ash for a moment. _"Alright then, let's begin. You get the first move."_

" _Thanks!"_ Fennekin turned to her trainer. _"If it's okay, could you referee? I want to achieve this by myself."_

"Go ahead, if this is what you want then I'm happy to help." The fourteen-year-old found a place to stand, far enough away from the chaos that may result from the two duelling. "When you are ready, you two, start!"

Fennekin started off by sending a stream of burning embers in Mawile's direction, who jumped up to dodge due to a weakness against fire attacks. Using the momentum, she flew forwards with a Feint Attack one of which Fennekin met with a well-timed Flame Charge that managed to blow her opponent back. As thought, one hit hadn't ranked Mawile out of the fight just yet. Mawile decided now was a good time to try and give Fennekin a chance to use her new move and went in for an Astonish, only to easily dodge the weak beam that was supposed to stop her and get a direct hit.

Fennekin flew backwards into a tree, yelping as she hit the trunk and the ground in quick succession of each other. She managed to slowly get back onto her four legs, realising that Mawile wasn't going on the offensive. Of course, she was right, as Mawile used Taunt, both figuratively and literally.

" _I thought you wanted to get stronger, didn't you?!"_

" _Yes, I do!"_ Fennekin yelled back, trying to show her will to grow and strengthen her abilities through her tone of voice.

" _Then why aren't you trying hard enough? Didn't our talk mean anything to you?!"_ It was getting Fennekin riled up, of course their talk last night meant a lot, it really did. With that, the fire type surrounded herself with a Flame Charge, rushing towards Mawile who surrounded herself with a Protect. _"I thought you were better than that, Fennekin! Where's the passion you had when learning the move? Where's the spark I saw when you pushed yourself to your limits? Tell me, where is it?!"_ The force of the moves colliding pushed both Pokémon back a bit, leaving ample chance for one to attack but that is not what Mawile wanted. She wanted to see Fennekin achieve her goal, she wanted to see the determination to learn the move transferred to actually mastering it and evolving.

" _You wanna see where that spark and passion is?!"_ Fennekin snarled, digging her paws into the ground as she began to build up the psychic energy for a last-ditch attempt Psybeam. _"You really wanna see it? Then here it is!"_ Pooling the energy to her mouth, she concentrated not on forming the beam, but what would happen afterwards. She saw her evolution, she saw herself getting stronger, she saw a powerful Pokémon and she knew she could be that Pokémon if she could just get this move right. With a loud yell, she fired the beam towards Mawile, shocked that it was fully formed, not weak in the slightest.

The steel and fairy type braced herself, grinning as the sheer power from the beam skidded her feet backwards against the ground. Now that was the spark and passion from earlier, that was what she was looking for. Fennekin was panting heavily across from her, but still standing none the less. Mawile let out a sigh of relief and smiled at the Pokémon facing her.

" _Now that, that was what I was looking for!"_ Her smile grew with each passing second, pride welled in her chest for the first type. _"You were amazing Fennekin!"_

"She's right you know," By then, both Pokémon had forgotten that Ash was there as well, his own prideful smile just as big – if not bigger – than Mawile's. "That was a proper Psybeam. You've done it Fennekin! You've mastered Psybeam!"

" _I did…"_ Overwhelming joy took over as Fennekin jumped up into the air. _"I DID IT! I DID… whoa..."_ As soon as she touched the ground, she was covered in a glowing blue light and her form shifted in shape, becoming bipedal with a larger tail, bigger ears and longer arms with a dress like appearance to the mixture of cream and black fur. A stick formed and make its pride and place sticking out of the tail as the glow died down, revealing that Fennekin had indeed achieved her goal. She was now a Braixen.

Braixen's eyes filled up with tears, if it wasn't for Ash and Mawile, she wouldn't be here right now. With renewed energy, she jumped at the two with the goal of pulling them into a group hug. Something that she successfully achieved.

"Well done Braixen."

" _Way to go, girl. I knew you had it in you."_ The positive compliments brought forth more tears.

" _Thank you so much! I couldn't have done it without you!"_

~0~o~0~

Alain and Mairin watched the scene with grins of their own. They had kept away from Ash and Fennekin – now Braixen – all day to make sure there were no interferences in the training. Time and time again they had been told their Pokémon's goals in life thanks to Ash's Sensor ability and both trainer and Pokémon alike wanted to work together to achieve their goals. It was also nice to see Mawile be herself instead of the stiff commander like person she had to be for the group back in the Glistening Cave. Being a trained Pokémon was allowing her to cast that persona aside to return to who she really was over some made up character from some kind of novel or something.

As such, Alain had offered to help Mairin train her two weakest Pokémon – Bébé and Mura – for an opportunity to waste the time away and because, like it or not, Alain had grown feelings over Mairin – brotherly feelings that would not vanish no matter how hard he could have tried. He didn't want them to vanish anyway, he liked being with Ash and Mairin. The three of them made an… interesting group together.

"Do you think I'd be able to do that one day?" Mairin asked out of the blue, watching as Braixen showed off her Psybeam attack to an easily impressed Leia – who had come from nowhere to see what was going on. "To be able to train my Pokémon like that?"

"Who knows?" Alain responded, trying not to tempt the hands of fate. "But what I do know is you'd be a good trainer even without one on one sessions."

The ten-year-old blinked at what she had heard. "Wait, did you say I'm a good trainer?"

"No, you just misheard me."

"No I didn't Alain," Mairin smirked, realising Alain had actually complemented her. "You just said I'd be a 'good trainer'… blah, blah, blah. I heard you!"

"You didn't and I need to take care of dinner." With that, he heel turned and headed back towards the main camping site the group had set up in, leaving a furious Mairin to huff at his retreating figure.

"Alain! You come back here and tell the truth!" She chased off after him, gaining the attention of one, once sleeping, Pokémon.

" _Edgelord… the same as fucking always…"_ And with that, Pikachu went back to his dream world of ketchup and people praising his name.

* * *

 **Next Time: A princess, a legend and a kingdom at stake.**


End file.
